Upper West Side Building Added To NYC’s ‘Most Distressed’ List

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side apartment building has been placed on New York City’s list of its 250 most distressed residential properties, triggering stricter oversight and stepped-up enforcement from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

City officials said Sunday that the property was added to the Alternative Enforcement Program, a 19-year-old initiative targeting landlords with persistent and severe housing code violations that affect tenant safety and living conditions.

The Upper West Side building is located at 202 West 82nd St., between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway. The 30-unit apartment building has 133 open violations, 21 of which are "class C" violations, which means they are "immediately hazardous," according to the New York City Department of Housing Development and Preservation.

The updated list of 250 buildings spans all five boroughs and includes 7,038 apartments with a combined 54,909 open housing code violations. Property owners on the list collectively owe the city nearly $4.5 million for emergency repairs already completed after landlords failed to fix hazardous conditions on their own.

Under the program, HPD increases inspections, issues Orders to Correct and, if necessary, performs repairs directly when owners do not act. The city then bills landlords for the work and can pursue legal action in Housing Court if violations remain unresolved.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and HPD Commissioner Dina Levy said the updated list reflects repeat patterns of disrepair and long-standing violations.

Building owners can exit the Alternative Enforcement Program within months if they resolve violations and pay outstanding emergency repair charges — or enter into a payment agreement with the city. HPD continues monitoring discharged buildings for at least one year, with repeat violations triggering renewed enforcement.

City officials said the program allows the city to concentrate resources on buildings where violations have persisted for years, using inspections, repairs and court action to address conditions that have gone unresolved.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com. Additional reporting by Ainsley Martinez.