499 Vanderbilt Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

BBL 3-02010-0021BIN 3399789

Concern level4 of 4

Severe

017 open class-C HPD violations (immediately hazardous) — about 1 per 2 apartments
026 of those issued in the last 3 years
032 open rent-impairing violation(s)
043 active DOB violation(s)
052 DOB fines 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 14 stabilized units with New York State for 2023 — essentially all of the building's 14 apartments.

2018 — 14 units registered2023 — 14

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

2012

Built

Floors

Residential units

Elevator 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.

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2026-09-30

§ 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 LATCH SET AT SOUTH COMPACTOR CLOSET DOOR AT PUBLIC HALL, 3rd STORY

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSApt 5BIssued 2024-11-04

§ 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 FRAME IN THE ENTRANCE LOCATED AT APT 5B, 5th STORY, 1st APARTMENT FROM SOUTH AT WEST

Status: Certified late

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2024-05-13

§ 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 HINGES AT TRASH CHUTE DOOR AT COMPACTOR CLOSET, 1st STORY

Status: Notice issued, not yet certified

CLASS C · IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUSIssued 2024-03-25

§ 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 AT COMPACTOR CLOSET AT EAST WALL AT PUBLIC HALL, 3rd STORY

Status: Certification rejected by HPD

HPD housing-maintenance violations

311 complaints from tenants

All time

Last 12 months

Door/Window3

Heat/Hot Water2

Unsanitary Condition2

Water Leak2

Water LeakHeavy Flow2026-08-23 · closed

Door/WindowDoor2026-08-12 · closed

Water LeakHeavy Flow2026-05-25 · 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

410

Noise reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

% from neighbors

Residential145

Unspecified90

Street/Sidewalk63

Vehicle58

Commercial52

Helicopter2

311 noise complaints within about 1,000 ft (a few blocks) in the last year. Most reports here are about outdoor noise (mostly residential) — 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

239

NYPD reports · last 12 mo

≈ per month

Felony57

Misdemeanor129

Violation53

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 5 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 · FISPNRF-NO REPORT AND / OR LATE FILING (FACADE) FACADE REQUIRED2023-02-22

FAILED TO FILE FISP CYCLE 9B TECHNICAL REPORT BY 2/21/2023

ACTIVE · AEUHAZ1-FAIL TO CERTIFY CLASS 1 NONE2019-01-23

FAILURE TO CERTIFY CORRECTION ON IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUS (CLASS 1) ECB VIOLATION

ACTIVE · EVCAT1-ELEVATOR ANNUAL INSPECTION / TEST ELEVATORREQUIRED2014-03-31

VIOLATION ISSUED TO ELEVATOR-FAILURE TO FILE CATEGORY 1 2012 INSPECTION/TEST

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 2017-04-10

Heat / hot water

Housing court

Landlord and related buildings

Registered owner

WESTWATER EQUITIES LLC

Head officer

TOM SHIMURA

Managing agent

ICS AMERICA CO

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

Landlord and related buildings

Unpaid city fines

$18,750

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.

DEFAULTConstructionClass 12026-04-25$12,500 due

DEFAULTLocal LawClass 22024-04-11$6,250 due

Unpaid city fines

Ownership & money

Recorded sales

Mortgages / refinances

Last recorded sale2013-08-20 · $6,100,000

Most recent mortgage2008-04-15 · $3,110,800

Sale2013-08-20$6,100,000

UTOPIA BROOKLYN LLC → WESTWATER EQUITIES LLC

Mortgage2008-04-15$3,110,800

borrower UTOPIA BROOKLYN, LLC · lender THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Mortgage2008-04-15$400,000

borrower UTOPIA BROOKLYN, LLC · lender THE COMMUNITY PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Sale2008-01-14$1,000,000

MOORE, EDWIN J II, MOORE, EDWIN J → UTOPIA BROOKLYN, LLC

Sale2005-12-16no recorded price

MOORE, EDWIN J II → MOORE, EDWIN J II

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