2538 Adam C Powell Boulevard

Manhattan, NY

BBL 1-02033-0029BIN 1060534

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

018 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) — about 1 per 2 apartments
027 of those issued in the last 3 years
033 open rent-impairing violation(s)

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 DOB 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 19 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — essentially all of the building's 19 apartments.

2018 — 19 units registered2023 — 19

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 building11 others linked to the same owner

HPD housing-maintenance violations

Open now

117

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.

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 5BIssued 2025-10-09RENT-IMPAIRING

567 (C) § 27-2017, 27-2017.1, 27-2017.4, 27-2017.5, 27-2017.8, 27-2019, 27-2021 HMC: ABATE THE NUISANCE CONSISTING OF EVIDENCE OF RATS AND ALL UNDERLYING CAUSES CREATING THE PEST INFESTATIONS, BY USING INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM), ELIMINATE ALL BURROW ENTRY AND PASSAGEWAYS, PEST NESTS, HOLES, GAPS OR CRACKS IN WALLS, CEILINGS, FLOORS, FIXING LEAKS AND MANAGING GARBAGE IN PUBLIC AREAS. EVIDENCE FOUND AT ... IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 5B, 5th STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 5BIssued 2025-10-09RENT-IMPAIRING

§ 27-2026 ADM CODE REPLACE THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE ...WASHBASIN IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT 5B, 5th STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 5BIssued 2025-09-23

HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF MICE IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 5B, 5th STORY, 2nd APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 3DIssued 2025-06-27

HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF MICE IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT 3D, 3rd STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM NORTH AT EAST

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

125

All time

Last 12 months

Unsanitary Condition26

Paint/Plaster20

Flooring/Stairs16

Heat/Hot Water15

Door/Window14

General7

Water Leak7

Plumbing7

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

Much higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

2908

Noise reports · last 12 mo

242

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Residential2248

Street/Sidewalk327

Commercial181

Unspecified105

Vehicle43

Park4

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

Much higher than averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

611

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony178

Misdemeanor279

Violation154

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

No active DOB violations.

DOB building violations

Evictions

Executed, all time

Last 3 years

2019-07-15Apt 1Bresidential

Executed by a city marshal. An eviction can be lawful; a high or rising count is a displacement signal, not proof of wrongdoing.

Evictions

Housing court

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 2023-07-24

Harassment case

CLOSEDOpened 2022-02-22

Tenant action

CLOSEDOpened 2018-02-15

Heat / hot water

CLOSEDOpened 2011-02-07

Tenant action

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

CENTRAL HARLEM ASSOCIATES LLC

Head officer

Keith Gordon

Managing agent

METROPOLITAN PROPERTY SERVICES

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

231 WEST 145 STREETMANHATTAN 2542 ADAM C POWELL BOULEVARDMANHATTAN 263 WEST 152 STREETMANHATTAN 2730 FREDERICK DOUGLASS BOULEVARDMANHATTAN 2743 FREDERICK DOUGLASS BOULEVARDMANHATTAN

Landlord and related buildings

Unpaid city fines

Balance due (active)

Active violations

Lost by default

DOB violations adjudicated by OATH carry money penalties. "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.

Unpaid city fines

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale2011-06-29 · $4,103,878.37

Most recent mortgage2013-02-27 · $16,155,889

Mortgage2013-02-27$16,155,889

borrower CENTRAL HARLEM ASSOCIATES LLC, HARLEM SHANGRI-LA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORA · lender NEW YORK CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Mortgage2013-02-27$22,439,204

borrower CENTRAL HARLEM ASSOCIATES LLC, HARLEM SHANGRI-LA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORA · lender NEW YORK CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Mortgage2013-02-27$16,437,277

borrower CENTRAL HARLEM ASSOCIATES LLC, HARLEM SHANGRI-LA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORA · lender NEW YORK CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Mortgage2013-02-13$5,535,741

borrower CENTRAL HARLEM ASSOCIATES LLC, HARLEM SHANGRI-LA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORPORA · lender NEW YORK CITY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Sale2011-06-29$4,103,878.37

HARLEM PHOENIX ASSOCIATES → HARLEM SHANGRI-LA HOPUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND

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