509 East 81 Street

Manhattan, NY

BBL 1-01578-0006BIN 1078714Plain-text version

Concern level3 of 4

High

015 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) — about 1 per 12 apartments
024 of those issued in the last 3 years

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.

HPD enforcement

Previously in HPD's Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP Round 18), discharged 2025-06-18.

Rent regulation

Likely rent-stabilized

The owner registered 7 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — of about 60 apartments.

2018 — 7 units registered2023 — 7

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

1920

Built

Floors

Residential units

Walk-up apartments

Type

The building

This building and the landlord's others

This building8 others linked to the same owner

HPD housing-maintenance violations

Open now

530

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. This tax lot has 2 buildings; these counts are for this building only.

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-05-18

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE REPLACE WITH NEW THE MISSING GLASS PANES AT SKYLIGHT AT BULKHEAD TO ROOF

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 7Issued 2025-07-30

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE & 309 M/D LAW ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF HOT WATER TEMPERATURE EXCEEDING MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OF 130F AT ALL HOT WATER FIXTURES THROUGHOUT IN THE KITCHEN LOCATED AT APT 7, 3rd STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM SOUTH AT WEST

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 7Issued 2024-07-22

HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF MICE IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 7, 3rd STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM SOUTH AT WEST

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

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 7Issued 2023-12-28

HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF MICE IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 7, 3rd STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM SOUTH AT WEST

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

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

813

All time

115

Last 12 months

Heat/Hot Water284

Unsanitary Condition191

Door/Window115

Plumbing58

Flooring/Stairs49

Paint/Plaster32

Electric26

Safety20

Complaints record what a tenant reported, not a finding by the city. "Closed" often means the inspector could not gain access.

311 complaints from tenants

Neighborhood noise

Higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

537

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Residential271

Unspecified159

Street/Sidewalk42

Vehicle31

Commercial19

Helicopter10

Park5

311 noise complaints within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year. Most reports here are about noise from inside buildings — neighbors, not the street. 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

About averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

274

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony75

Misdemeanor158

Violation41

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 8 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.

No active DOB violations.

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.

ConstructionClass 22025-01-21$1,250 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

Cases on record

Open now

Tenant-brought

Harassment found

With a judgment

Most cases are tenants taking the owner to court to force repairs. A case is not proof of wrongdoing; a harassment finding or judgment is a court ruling against the owner.

CLOSEDOpened 2022-10-17

Access Warrant - Non-Lead

CLOSEDOpened 2019-02-21

Heat / hot water

CLOSEDOpened 2014-11-21

Heat / hot water

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

VULCAN 81 CO LLC

Head officer

HENRY MOSES

Managing agent

VANDERLEIGH PROPERTIES LLC

8 other buildings share this owner's registration contacts. Shared contacts suggest common control, but they are not proof of ownership.

1229 1 AVENUEMANHATTAN 1233 1 AVENUEMANHATTAN 222 THOMPSON STREETMANHATTAN 318 EAST 78 STREETMANHATTAN 338 EAST 65 STREETMANHATTAN

Landlord and related buildings

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale2001-03-14 · no recorded price

Most recent mortgage2025-12-05 · $1,524,448.42

Mortgage2025-12-05$1,524,448.42

borrower VULCAN 81 CO. LLC · lender JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.

Mortgage2015-06-30$1,825,431.1

borrower VULCAN 81 CO. LLC · lender JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.

Mortgage2011-08-25$227,010.09

borrower VULCAN 81 CO LLC · lender SOVEREIGN BANK

Mortgage2006-03-06$997,210.89

borrower VULCAN 81 CO. LLC · lender INDEPENDENCE COMMUNITY BANK

Mortgage2002-12-05$439,826.44

borrower VULCAN 81 CO. LLC · lender INDEPENDENCE COMMUNITY BANK

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