A Bronx apartment building highlighted by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to showcase the credentials of his newly appointed housing commissioner is burdened with nearly 200 unresolved housing-code violations.
The situation raised fresh questions about the administration’s push to replace private landlords with nonprofit operators.
According to a report by the New York Post, the 102-unit building in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx had at least 194 open violations as of Saturday, some dating back nearly a decade.
Records showed that 88 of those violations are classified as “Class C,” meaning they pose an immediate hazard to tenants.
Issues include rat and roach infestations, mold, broken doors and appliances, and a lack of basic services, the Post reported.
Mamdani visited the building on Jan. 4 to introduce Dina Levy as his new commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development.
During the visit, he praised Levy’s background in nonprofit affordable housing and presented the building as an example of successful government-backed management.
Levy previously helped facilitate a 2011 deal that transferred the property from private ownership to nonprofit Workforce Housing Advisors, using a $5.6 million loan from HPD to stabilize the building and preserve its rent-regulated status.
Levy now earns more than $277,000 annually as HPD commissioner.
But tenants told the Post the building’s condition has worsened since the nonprofit takeover. Several said problems such as unreliable heat and hot water, crumbling interiors, broken lighting, and rodent infestations often go unresolved for months.
One longtime tenant said conditions were better under the previous private landlord, citing better maintenance and responsiveness.
Despite being promoted as a success story, the building reportedly has more dangerous violations than many privately owned rent-stabilized properties across New York City.
Mamdani has backed legislation aimed at giving nonprofits greater control over rent-stabilized housing and limiting private ownership.
Republicans and landlord groups argue the approach is ideological and ignores mounting evidence that nonprofit-run buildings often perform worse despite receiving taxpayer funding, loans, and tax advantages.