288 East 149 Street

Bronx, NY

BBL 2-02330-0015BIN 2000889

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

018 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) across 8 apartments
027 of those issued in the last 3 years
035 open rent-impairing violation(s)
042 active DOB violation(s)
051 DOB 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 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 12 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — essentially all of the building's 8 apartments.

2019 — 11 units registered2023 — 12

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

1905

Built

Floors

Residential units

Walk-up apartments

Type

The building

This building and the landlord's others

This building5 others linked to the same owner

HPD housing-maintenance violations

Open now

198

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 HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-01-13

§ 27-2005, 27-2007, 27-2041.1 HMC, §238, § 309; § 107 (2) ( C) MDL AND 28 RCNY §25-171: REPLACE OR REPAIR THE SELF-CLOSING DOORS THAT IS MISSING OR DEFECTIVE HINGE AT FIRE DOOR AT BOILER ROOM

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-01-05RENT-IMPAIRING

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE FIRE ESCAPE DEFECTIVE. REPLACE WITH NEW THE BROKEN, DEFECTIVE AND/OR MISSING 13TH TREAD UP FROM BOTTOM AT BUILDING REAR AT FIRE ESCAPE, 1st STORY

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-01-05RENT-IMPAIRING

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE MAKE SAFE BY PROPERLY REPAIRING THE STRUCTURAL DEFECT VERTICAL CRACKS IN BRICK AND MORTAR AT SOUTH EXTERIOR WALL (REAR OF BUILDING) EXTENDING FROM 1ST TO 3RD STORIES

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-01-05RENT-IMPAIRING

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE FIRE ESCAPE DEFECTIVE. REPLACE WITH NEW THE BROKEN, DEFECTIVE AND/OR MISSING 1ST RUNG UP FROM BOTTOM AT DROP LADDER AT BUILDING REAR AT FIRE ESCAPE, 1st STORY

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

All time

Last 12 months

Paint/Plaster4

Unsanitary Condition3

Door/Window2

Appliance1

Plumbing1

Water Leak1

Unsanitary ConditionPests2026-01-13 · open

Paint/PlasterCeiling2025-09-25 · closed

Paint/PlasterWall2024-09-03 · closed

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

664

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Residential464

Street/Sidewalk142

Unspecified24

Vehicle19

Commercial13

Park2

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

724

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony247

Misdemeanor373

Violation104

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 3 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

ACTIVE · LBLVIO-LOW PRESSURE BOILER BOILER REQUIRED2025-11-14

VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2024 EXTERNAL LOW PRESSURE INSPECTION

ACTIVE · LBLVIO-LOW PRESSURE BOILER BOILER REQUIRED2023-06-30

VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2020 EXTERNAL LOW PRESSURE INSPECTION

DOB building violations

Evictions

Executed, all time

Last 3 years

2018-03-19Apt 5residential

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 2019-08-21

Tenant action

CLOSEDOpened 2019-03-01

Tenant action

CLOSEDOpened 2010-10-28

Tenant action

CLOSEDOpened 2010-08-04

Tenant action

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

EMPIRE SOBRO PARTNERS LLC

Head officer

MICHAEL ARYEH

Managing agent

Aaron Mechlovics

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

234 WEST 135 STREETMANHATTAN 25 ST NICHOLAS TERRACEMANHATTAN 63 WEST 131 STREETMANHATTAN 67 WEST 131 STREETMANHATTAN 820 RIVERSIDE DRIVEMANHATTAN

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.

DEFAULTBoilersClass 22017-03-10$2,500 penalty

Unpaid city fines

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale2008-10-23 · $1,200,000

Most recent mortgage2017-01-31 · $1,148,316.74

Mortgage2017-01-31$1,148,316.74

borrower EMPIRE SOBRO PARTNERS LLC · lender ARBOR AGENCY LENDING, LLC

Mortgage2013-09-30$636,106

borrower EMPIRE SOBRO PARTNERS LLC · lender BANKUNITED, NA

Sale2008-10-23$1,200,000

SPENCER, FERDINAND A, MCNEIL SPENCER, GLORIA F → EMPIRE SOBRO PARTNERS LLC

Mortgage2008-10-23$900,000

borrower EMPIRE SOBRO PARTNERS LLC · lender TD BANK NA

Mortgage1992-05-13$170,000

borrower SPENCER, GLORIA E MCNEIL, SPENCER, FERDINAND A. · lender ALEXANDER, PRESTON P.

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

Flagged for the 2025 tax-lien sale

The owner owes enough in property taxes (and possibly water charges) to be listed for the city's tax-lien sale (most recently a 10-day notice). A listing can still be cured by paying or entering a payment plan.

Years listed

2025

Most recent

10-day noticeincl. property tax2025-05-01

30-day noticeincl. property tax2025-04-01

60-day noticeincl. property tax2025-03-01

90-day noticeincl. property tax2025-02-01

From DOF lien-sale lists (2019–2025). Financial distress is not proof of neglect, but owners behind on what they owe the city more often let repairs slide. Debt may since have been paid.

City debt & tax-lien sale