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1538 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237

Built 1931 · 3-story walk-up · 6 apartments

5 immediately hazardous violations open. 17 open in all. On the state's rent-stabilization list for 2024.

Tenant reviews
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Open violations
175 · 7 · 5
Public record
Updated todayFrom the city’s own data (, 311, the courts), refreshed nightly.

Violations issued each year

None issued since 2022. 21 violations before that, the first in 1982.

See every violation
Open per apartment
2.8 (17 open across 6 apartments)
Inspector last found a problem
12 Oct 2021 (visits that find nothing are not published)
What do these labels mean?
Tenant-reported
A resident's firsthand account of living here, moderated before it publishes, and labelled with whether we verified they lived there.
Official violation
A city inspector visited and recorded a code violation. HPD's own words, and its own hazard class.
Public complaint
A complaint somebody made to a city system, through HPD or 311. A report, not a finding: nobody has necessarily inspected it.
Public filing
A permit, a registration, a bedbug report: a document the owner filed with the city because the law requires it.
Court record
A Housing Court case HPD brought against the owner, or an eviction a city marshal carried out. A court's record: a case is an allegation until it ends in a finding.
Insufficient data
Not enough current information here to infer a pattern either way.

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Tenant-reported

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Nothing above this section came from a tenant. It is all filed by the city, which means it only holds what somebody reported and an inspector wrote down, not what it is actually like to live here.

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Heat season

No heat or hot-water complaints or violations were recorded here last winter (2025–26). That is the city's record: it only holds what somebody reported.

WinterDaysComplaintsViolations
2025–26000

The rules, 1 October to 31 May: from 6am to 10pm, when it is below 55°F outside, the apartment must be at least 68°F; overnight it must be at least 62°F whatever the weather. Hot water must be at least 120°F all year. A tenant without heat can report it to 311.

Rent stabilization

Public filing

The owner registered at least one rent-stabilized apartment here with the state for 2024. The list does not say which apartments, or how many.

Source: Rent Guidelines Board building list, from the state's 2024 registrations. To know about one apartment, a tenant can ask the state for its rent history through Ask HCR.

City violations

Official violation

Immediately hazardous5 open

Class C. HPD considers the condition an immediate danger: no heat in winter, no hot water, lead paint where a child lives, a broken lock on the front door. The owner has 24 hours to correct it.

  • Correct failure to notify occupants and/or to investigate lead-based paint hazards.

    Issued 12 Oct 2021Notice sent out 13 Oct 2021Lead paint§ 27-2056.4

  • Post notice, in form approved by the department, stating the name and location of the person designated by the owner to have key to buildings heating system, 1st story

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Heat and hot water§ 27-2033

  • Correct failure to provide to the department within 45 days of demand all records required to be maintained by owner pursuant to local law 1 of 2004 related to lead-based paint notices, inspections and remediation/abatement activities.

    Issued 12 Aug 2021Notice sent out 5 Oct 2021Lead paint§ 27-2056.7

  • Post notice, in form approved by the department, stating the name and location of the person designated by the owner to have key to building's heating system 1 sty pub hall.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Heat and hot water§ D26-17.10

  • Remove the illegal fastening chain & padlocked at scuttle cover 3 sty public hall to roof er1.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Roof and outside the building§ D26-10.01 +1

Hazardous7 open

Class B. A hazardous condition: a leak, mould, a defective floor. The owner has 30 days to correct it.

  • Discontinue use of rooms for living, disconnect plumbing fixtures and properly seal pipe connections four rooms erected at cellar east.

    Issued 22 Jul 1988Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Leaks and plumbing§ 27-2081

  • Discontinue use of rooms for living, disconnect plumbing fixtures and properly seal pipe connections cellr center & rear north r101.

    Issued 4 Jun 1986Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Leaks and plumbing§ D26-34.01

  • And dept. rules and regulations. remove the encumbrance obstructing egress from fire escapes all stys rear balcony r95.

    Issued 4 Jun 1986Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Fire and safety equipment§ D26-10.01 +1

  • Remove all encumbrances consisting of household articles 3rd sty pub hall.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Fire and safety equipment§ D26-10.01 +1

  • Abate the nuisance consisting of vermin roaches 1 sty west an apartment., section '' ''

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Pests§ D26-13.03

  • Abate the nuisance consisting of out of balance lower sash east window in front room 1st sty southwest an apartment., section '' ''

    Issued 13 Jul 1983Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Doors and windows§ D26-10.01

  • Abate the nuisance consisting of vermin mice & roaches kitchen & bathroom 3 sty an apartment., section '' ''

    Issued 4 Oct 1982Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Pests§ D26-13.03

Non-hazardous5 open

Class A. The least serious band: chipped plaster, a missing cabinet, a peeling ceiling in a hallway. The owner has 90 days to correct it.

  • File plans and application and legalize the following alteration or restore to the legal condition existing prior to the making of said alteration dropped ceiling bathroom & 1 room from kitchen 1 sty an apartment.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Walls and ceilings§ 300

  • Repair the broken or defective plastered surfaces and paint in a uniform color walls & ceiling 1st sty east apartment bathroom.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Walls and ceilings§ D26-10.01

  • File plans and application and legalize the following alteration or restore to the legal condition existing prior to the making of said alteration partition erected creating 3 room & water closet compartment at north wall cellar.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Walls and ceilings§ 300

  • Properly repair the broken or defective & or inoperable window sash throughout 3 sty an apartment., section '' ''

    Issued 4 Oct 1982Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Doors and windows§ D26-10.01

  • Paint with light colored paint to the satisfaction of this department walls & clg kitchen bathroom 3 sty an apartment., section '' ''

    Issued 4 Oct 1982Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Walls and ceilings§ D26-12.01

Paperwork and notices7 open

The owner failed to file something the city requires, most often the annual property registration or the annual bedbug report. Real violations, and they say something about an owner, but not a condition anyone is living in. Kept out of the count at the top of this page for that reason.

  • Post and maintain a proper sign on wall of entrance story showing the registration number assigned by the department and the address of the building., 1st story

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Paperwork and notices§ 27-2104

  • Post and maintain a proper notice on wall of the entrance story in english and spanish on the availability of the agencys housing information guide. a sample notice can be found at www.nyc.gov/hpd., 1st story

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Paperwork and notices§ 26-1103

  • Post a proper notice of carbon monoxide detecting device requirements, in a form approved by the commissioner, in a common area of a class a multiple dwelling near inspection certificate or provide notice to tenants in a private dwelling.

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Paperwork and notices§ 27-2046.1

  • Post, in a form approved by the commissioner, and maintain a notice in a common area of the building regarding the procedures that should be followed when a gas leak is suspected, 1st story

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Paperwork and notices§ 27-2005

  • Dept. rules and regs. provide a completed certificate of inspection visits in a proper frame at or near mailboxes, bottom edge of frame between 48-62 inches above floor, 1st story

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Notice sent out 22 Aug 2021Paperwork and notices§ 329

  • Dept. rules and regs. provide a completed certificate of inspection visits in a proper frame at or near mailboxes, bottom edge of frame between 48-62 inches above floor frame missing.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Paperwork and notices§ 329

  • Post a proper notice of smoke detector requirements, in a form approved by the commissioner, at or near the mail box missing.

    Issued 23 Sept 1985Notice sent out 10 Jun 2008Paperwork and notices§ D26-20.08

4 closed violations, plus 11 closed paperwork filings

Closed means HPD recorded the violation as corrected, or dismissed it. Both appear here, because the difference matters and only HPD’s own status line says which it was.

  • Trace and repair the source and abate the visible mold condition... approximately 10 sq ft at the ceiling in the 1st room from north, 1st story at west

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Violation dismissed 30 Nov 2021Mold and damp§ 27-2017.3

  • Install the missing or repair/replace the defective window guard(s) in accordance with the specifications of the new york city health code section 24 rcny chapter 12. wg to install = 1; wg to replace = 0; wg to repair = 0; in the entire apartment, 1st story at west

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Violation dismissed 30 Nov 2021Fire and safety equipment§ 27-2043.1

  • Repair or replace the smoke detector, missing in the entire apartment, 1st story at west

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Violation dismissed 30 Nov 2021Fire and safety equipment§ 27-2045

  • Repair or replace the carbon monoxide detecting device(s)., missing in the entire apartment, 1st story at west

    Issued 18 Aug 2021Violation dismissed 30 Nov 2021Fire and safety equipment§ 27-2046.1

39 violations on record in total, 24 of them open. The count at the top of this page counts habitability violations only.

Complaints to the city

Public complaint

Complaints are reports made to the city. They are not confirmed findings. They come from HPD and from 311, and the same problem can appear more than once if more than one neighbour called.

No complaints from this building in the last three years. Worth knowing what that does and does not mean: tenants who expect nothing to happen often stop calling.

Court records

Court record

Housing Court cases

Cases the city’s housing department (HPD) brought against the owner, usually to force repairs or restore heat. A case is an allegation; where the court recorded an outcome, it is shown.

No HPD Housing Court cases on record for this building.

Evictions

Residential evictions carried out by a city marshal since 2017. Most follow a case for unpaid rent, so a count here is not by itself a finding about the building or the landlord. We show how many, never which apartment.

No marshal evictions recorded at this building since 2017.

Filings

Public filing

Building permits

No DOB permits filed for this building in the last five years.

Annual bedbug report

Every multiple dwelling in New York must file this once a year. A report of zero infested units is good news. No report is not: failing to file is itself a violation.

  • 2026No infested units reported (2024 report)
Show 6 earlier reports
  • 2025No infested units reported (2023 report)
  • 2024No infested units reported (2022 report)
  • 2023No infested units reported (2021 report)
  • 2022No infested units reported (2020 report)
  • 2021No infested units reported (2019 report)
  • 2019No infested units reported (2018 report)

Ownership and management

Public filing

Associations come from registration records and may be incomplete. Owners register with HPD once a year, so a change of hands can go unrecorded for a full cycle.

  • Registered managing agent

    BONNIE ESPINAL

    Public records list BONNIE ESPINAL as the registered managing agent for this address as of 28 Jun 2026. Source: HPD registration.

  • Owner of record

    MIRIAM MERGAL

    Public records list MIRIAM MERGAL as the owner of record for this address as of 28 Jun 2026. Source: HPD registration.

Wrong company, wrong date, or a change that is not reflected here? Report a correction.

What to ask at the viewing

Drawn from this building’s record above. They are questions, not conclusions: the point is to find out, in the twenty minutes you get inside, what the public record cannot tell you.

  1. The city currently has 5 open immediately-hazardous violations on this building. Ask which apartments they concern, how many are in the one you would be renting, and when HPD re-inspects.
  2. The city recorded 1 mould violation here, most recently in 2021, all since closed. Closed means the city stopped checking, not that the damp is gone. Ask to look behind furniture and under sinks, and ask what was done the last time; a repaint is not a repair.
  3. The owner has filed a bedbug report for this building (most recently for the year ending 2026). Ask when the building was last treated, how often an exterminator comes, and whether treatment covers the whole line of apartments or only the one that complained.
  4. This building dates from 1931 and has 2 open lead-paint violations on record. If a child under six will live here, ask what testing and remediation has been done and ask for it in writing.
  5. Ask what the deposit is, exactly what can be deducted from it, and how and when it comes back.
  6. Ask who to call when something breaks, what happens after hours and at weekends, and how long a repair normally takes.

Ask for anything that matters in writing; an email after the viewing is enough. We are not your lawyer and this is not legal advice.

Questions about this building

BBL 3032470030 · Block 3247, Lot 30 · Building class C2