221 West 79 Street

Manhattan, NY

BBL 1-01227-0022BIN 1032626Plain-text version

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

014 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) — about 1 per 2 apartments
021 active DOB violation(s)
031 OATH/ECB fine lost by default (unpaid)

How this is set: open hazardous violations measured against the building's size, then raised by strong distress signals — HPD's enforcement program, court harassment findings, recent evictions, unpaid OATH/ECB fines, open housing-court cases, and a sold tax lien. Neighborhood noise and crime are not part of it. It describes the public record, not the condition of any one apartment, and a quiet record is not proof of a good building.

Rent regulation

Likely rent-stabilized

The owner registered 2 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — of about 8 apartments.

2018 — 2 units registered2023 — 2

No public data says which specific apartment is stabilized.

Registration counts apply to the building, not to unit numbers. To confirm your own apartment, request your rent history from New York State Homes and Community Renewal — it is free and takes a few weeks.

How to request your rent history →

Rent regulation

The building

1896

Built

Floors

Residential units

Walk-up apartments

Type

The building

This building and the landlord's others

This building

HPD housing-maintenance violations

Open now

On record

Open Class C

Open Class B

Open Class A

Class C is immediately hazardous, Class B is hazardous, Class A is non-hazardous. A violation stays open until HPD certifies the repair, so some open items may already be fixed. HPD writes a separate violation for each room or spot, so one inspection can produce several near-identical entries; those are grouped below by apartment and date.

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2015-03-043 violations5+ YRS OLD

SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE & 309 M/D LAW ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF PAINTED SPRINKLER HEADS AT CEILING AT 3RD STORY PUBLIC HALL
SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE & 309 M/D LAW ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF PAINTED SPRINKLER HEADS AT CEILING AT 4TH STORY PUBLIC HALL

1 more from the same inspection

SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE REPLACE WITH NEW THE MISSING 5TH WOOD BALUSTER AT 3RD STORY PUBLIC HALL STAIRS

Status: HPD couldn't get in to re-inspect

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 4EIssued 2015-02-235+ YRS OLD

SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE & 309 M/D LAW ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF HOT WATER EXCEEDING MAXIMUM OF130.F DEGREES AT HOT WATER FIXTURES, IN KITCHENETTE AND. IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT 4E, 4th STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: HPD couldn't get in to re-inspect

CLASS B · HAZARDOUSApt 4EIssued 2015-02-232 violations5+ YRS OLD

SECTION 27-2045 ADM CODE REPAIR OR REPLACE THE SMOKE DETECTOR MISSING IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 4E, 4th STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH
SECTION 27-2046.1 HMC: REPAIR OR REPLACE THE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTING DEVICE(S). MISSING IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 4E, 4th STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: HPD couldn't get in to re-inspect

CLASS B · HAZARDOUSIssued 2009-08-134 violations5+ YRS OLD

SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE PROPERLY REPAIR WITH SIMILAR MATERIAL THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE MASONARY WALL BACK YARD 2 TO 3 STY.
SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE PROPERLY REPAIR WITH SIMILAR MATERIAL THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE PLASTER WALLS 2 STY PUBLIC HALL.

2 more from the same inspection

SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE & 309 M/D LAW ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF DAMPNESS WALLS & CEILING 2 STY PUBLIC HALL.
SECTION 27-2005 ADM CODE REPLACE WITH NEW THE MISSING GLASS FACING AROUND 2 STY WINDOW & FRONT AT ARRIVING FRONT OF BLDG.

Status: HPD couldn't get in to re-inspect

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

No 311 housing complaints on record for this building.

311 complaints from tenants

Neighborhood noise

Higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

478

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Unspecified129

Residential110

Commercial95

Street/Sidewalk81

Vehicle47

Helicopter14

Park1

House of Worship1

311 noise complaints within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year. Most reports here are about outdoor noise (mostly unspecified) — street life and traffic more than neighbors. This counts how often people call 311, which tracks how densely populated and busy an area is as much as how loud it is — it is not a sound measurement.

Neighborhood noise

Neighborhood crime

Higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

429

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony112

Misdemeanor280

Violation37

NYPD complaints reported within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year, by severity. This reflects what gets reported and where police are active as much as actual safety, and busier, denser, higher-foot-traffic blocks log more. Locations are approximate — the NYPD shifts each report to the nearest corner for privacy — so read this as rough context, not a safety score.

Neighborhood crime

Bedbug history

No bedbugs reported

The owner filed 6 annual bedbug reports and reported no infested units. Filing with zero infestations is the compliant, reassuring case.

Bedbug history

DOB building violations

Active

On record

Active, last 3 yrs

Violations issued by the Department of Buildings that the owner must correct. Most don't carry a fine on their own; summonses that go to a hearing and can be fined are listed separately under OATH/ECB.

ACTIVE · C-CONSTRUCTION OTHER OPTIONAL2021-11-03

PARTIAL VACATE REAR YARD BALCONY AND TERRACE, OBSERVED UNSAFE FACADE CONDITIONS FROM BUILDING 214 W 80 ST CAUSING HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS

DOB building violations

OATH/ECB violations and fines

Balance due (active)

Active violations

Lost by default

These are separate from DOB violations. They are summonses written by DOB inspectors and decided at a hearing before OATH, the city's administrative court (formerly the Environmental Control Board), and they can carry a fine. "Lost by default" means the owner never appeared at the hearing. An unpaid balance is a stronger "ignoring the city" signal than a raw violation count.

DEFAULTConstructionNon-Hazardous2002-03-06$2,500 penalty

OATH/ECB violations and fines

Evictions

No marshal-executed evictions on record for this building. Eviction cases filed in court but not carried out aren't included.

Evictions

Housing court: repair & harassment cases

No HPD housing-court cases on record for this building.

These are cases HPD is a party to, mostly tenants suing to force repairs or stop harassment. Eviction cases landlords file against tenants are not in the city's open data, so they don't appear here; the Evictions section shows only evictions a marshal carried out.

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

JDC CO LLC

Head officer

BESS FERN

Managing agent

CASTAGNELLO REALTY

No other buildings found sharing this building's registered contact.

Landlord and related buildings

Ownership & money

Speculation watch

·Changed hands in 2026 — new owners sometimes move to raise rents or deregulate units

A pattern, not a prediction — many transfers are ordinary or between related companies.

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale2026-02-20 · no recorded price

Most recent mortgage2026-02-20 · $204,399.73

Sale2026-02-20no recorded price

ARTICLE THIRD FUND B TRUST U/W/O JOHN CASTAGNELLO → ARTICLE THIRD FUND B TRUST U/W/O JOHN CASTAGNELLO, CASTAGNELLO, CO-TRUSTEE, GAIL MATH

Mortgage2026-02-20$204,399.73

borrower ARTICLE THIRD FUND B TRUST U/W/O JOHN CASTAGNELLO, CASTAGNELLO, CO-TRUSTEE, GAIL MATH · lender JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.

Mortgage2018-08-21$1,500,000

borrower GAIL MATH CASTAGNELLO, THE ARTICLE THIRD FUND B TRUST U/W/O, AMANDA STONE LEITNER · lender JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.

Sale2004-01-29no recorded price

ESTATE OF JOHN CASTAGNELLO → ARTICLE THIRD FUND B TRUST U/W/O

Sale2001-03-19no recorded price

CASTAGNELLO, SAM ESTATE OF, STEINMAN, MARSHALL L. AS CO-EXECUTOR, CHRISTIAN, MARILYN AS CO=-EXECUTOR → CASTAGNELLO, JOHN ESTATE OF

From ACRIS recorded documents. Amounts are often $0 or nominal for transfers between related parties, and LLCs can obscure who is really involved — treat this as public-record context, not a valuation.

Ownership & money

City debt & tax-lien sale

Not on the city's tax-lien sale list (2019–2025). The owner has not fallen far enough behind on property tax or water charges to be flagged for a lien sale.

City debt & tax-lien sale