556 Lafayette Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

BBL 3-01788-0038BIN 3049883

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

0121 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) across 8 apartments
027 of those issued in the last 3 years
0312 active DOB 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 8 stabilized units with New York State for 2018 — essentially all of the building's 8 apartments.

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

1931

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

326

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 3Issued 2026-09-14

§ 27-2017.3 HMC: TRACE AND REPAIR THE SOURCE AND ABATE THE VISIBLE MOLD CONDITION... MORE THAN 10 SQ. FT. AT CEILING IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT 3, 2nd STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH ORIGINAL VIOLATION 18256360 ISSUED 26-SEP-25 HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO CLASS C PER ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 27-2017.3a(5)(a) or (b).

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 5Issued 2026-09-08

§ 27-2017.3 HMC: TRACE AND REPAIR THE SOURCE AND ABATE THE VISIBLE MOLD CONDITION... AT CEILING AND ALL WALLS GREATER THAN 10 SQ,FT IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT 5, 3rd STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH ORIGINAL VIOLATION 19048338 ISSUED 29-JUN-26 HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO CLASS C PER ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 27-2017.3a(5)(a) or (b).

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-08-04

§ 27-2005 HMC: IMMEDIATELY PROVIDE A FIRE GUARD AS DIRECTED BY THE NYC DEPT. OF HOUSING PRESERVATION & DEVELOPMENT (HPD) AND/OR THE NYC DEPT. OF BUILDINGS (DOB) TO PROTECT AGAINST FIRE HAZARDS OBSERVED BY HPD AND/OR DOB. FIRE HAZARDS OBSERVED BY HPD HAVE RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL HPD VIOLATION(S): VIOL. #19100045 IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC SAFETY AGAINST IMMINENT FIRE HAZARDS OBSERVED, A FIRE GUARD MUST BE PROVIDED FORTHWITH FOR CONTINUOUS 24 HOUR COVERAGE, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CORRECTION AND CERTIFICATION DATES SET FORTH ABOVE (THE CORRECTION AND CERTIFICATION DATES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE APPLICABLE FOR PURPOSES OF CIVIL PENALTIES THAT MAY BE ASSESSED PURSUANT TO NYC ADMINISTRATIVE CODE § 27-2115, BUT DO NOT REFLECT THE DATE BY WHICH A FIRE GUARD MUST BE PROVIDED). A FIRE GUARD MUST BE PROVIDED IMMEDIATELY DUE TO THE EXIGENCY OF THE DANGEROUS FIRE HAZARD CONDITIONS OBSERVED. THE VIOLATION REQUIRING A FIRE GUARD TO BE PROVIDED WILL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE FIRE HAZARDS RESULTING IN THE HPD VIOLATION(S) REFERENCED ABOVE AND/OR THE FIRE HAZARDS RESULTING IN RELATED DOB VIOLATION(S) HAVE BEEN DISMISSED.

Status: Awaiting HPD re-inspection

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 1LIssued 2026-06-01

§ 27-2005 ADM CODE REPAIR THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE PLASTERED SURFACES AND PAINT IN A UNIFORM COLOR THE CEILING IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT 1L, 1st STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM EAST AT SOUTH

Status: Landlord hasn't certified a fix

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

124

All time

Last 12 months

Heat/Hot Water33

Unsanitary Condition20

General12

Water Leak11

Door/Window11

Appliance11

Electric10

Paint/Plaster6

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

815

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Commercial407

Residential224

Street/Sidewalk105

Unspecified68

Vehicle10

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 commercial) — 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

About averagevs. NYC apartment blocks

254

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony73

Misdemeanor123

Violation58

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 1 annual bedbug report 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 REQUIRED2024-09-23

VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2023 EXTERNAL LOW PRESSURE INSPECTION

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

VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2021 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

No executed evictions on record for this building.

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 2026-01-05

Harassment case

CLOSEDOpened 2025-08-21

Heat / hot water

CLOSEDOpened 2011-08-17

Comp Supplemental Cases

CLOSEDOpened 2010-12-13

Comprehensive

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

556 Lafayette LLC

Head officer

Joel Lefkow

Managing agent

Abeel Boodhan

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

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.

BoilersClass 22022-02-03$3,125 penalty

Unpaid city fines

Ownership & money

Speculation watch

·Changed hands in 2025 — 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 sale2025-05-13 · $2,600,000

Most recent mortgage2020-01-09 · $1,882,426.87

Sale2025-05-13$2,600,000

LAFAYETTE RESIDENCE LLC → 556 LAFAYETTE LLC

Mortgage2020-01-09$1,882,426.87

borrower LAFAYETTE RESIDENCE LLC · lender SBT ADVANTAGE BANK

Mortgage2015-03-26$280,000

borrower 239 TROY AVENUE LLC, LAFAYETTE RESIDENCE LLC, GOLDBERGER, CHAIM, 732 GREENE AVENUE LLC · lender CONTINENTAL CAPITAL GROUP LLC

Mortgage2014-03-31$502,281.63

borrower 239 TROY AVENUE LLC, LAFAYETTE RESIDENCE LLC, 732 GREENE AVENUE LLC · lender CUSTOMERS BANK

Mortgage2008-08-20$409,587.01

borrower LAFAYETTE RESIDENCE LLC · lender THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LONG ISLAND

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