New report says Bushwick tops the list for heat violations

As frigid temperatures descend on NYC once again, real estate database provider Localize.City has produced a report showing which (non-NYCHA) buildings and neighborhoods have racked up the most heat violations in recent years. Bushwick, Brooklyn tops the list, followed by Van Nest in the Bronx. Read on to find out if your neighborhood–or building–made the list–and find out what you can do if your building has no–or not enough–heat.

Mouse over the interactive map above to see how many violations were found in each NYC neighborhood. Map courtesy of Localize.city.

These neighborhoods had the highest rates of heat violations:

Bushwick, Brooklyn
Van Nest, Bronx
Crown heights, Brooklyn
Wakefield, Bronx
Williamsbridge, Bronx
East Flatbush, Brooklyn
Belmont, Bronx
East New York, Brooklyn
Tremont, Bronx
Hunts Point, Bronx

These were the top 3 addresses for total heat violations over 4 years:

509 West 134th St., West Harlem, 19 units, 20 violations
381 Vernon Ave., Bedford-Stuyvesant, 3 units, 18 violations
506 Brook Ave., Mott Haven, 9 units, 18 violations

The report looked at the legislation introduced by City Council that would require the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to identify the 150 buildings (non-public housing buildings with three or more units) with the highest rates of hazardous heat violations over four years. Landlords of those buildings would then be required by the city to install heat sensors in all apartments and record temperatures every hour, with the information accessible online.

Among the top 150 buildings with violations:

• Nearly half of those on the list had only three units.
• Another 27 percent had four units.
• Only seven buildings had nine or more units.

Localize.city also provides an interactive database that shows a building’s housing violation history along with other relevant information about the city’s buildings, including whether heat and hot water violations are currently open or caused problems in the recent past. The goal is to help New Yorkers become informed and avoid surprises after they move in.

What if you’re left out in the cold inside your home during the winter months? You can find out here what to do if your landlord isn’t providing adequate heat.

RELATED:

• Heating 101: How to keep your apartment warm during NYC’s coldest months
• Thousands of NYCHA residents had no heat or hot water on dangerously cold day
• In just three weeks, over 35,000 NYCHA residents have already experienced heat outages
• Renters’ Rights 101: Know what your landlord is responsible for