538 East 21st Street
Top insights
- 19 open hazardous (Class C) violations
- Built before 1939 (1931) — likely subject to NYC lead-paint rules
- Rent-stabilized: 55 units registered
Class B
Class C
12 months to Aug 2026
rent-stabilized with
DHCR (most recent year)
units (PLUTO)
12 months through June 2026
rent
min walk
(311 complaints)
errands grade
nearby
A difference between the DHCR rent-stabilized count and the PLUTO total is common and does not, on its own, indicate a violation: units can leave rent stabilization legally, the two datasets count units differently, some units may be non-residential, and a registration can be filed incompletely. To check your own apartment, see how to request your rent history from DHCR.
538 East 21st Street
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- City records show 47 open HPD violations, 19 immediately hazardous (Class C) at this building. Ask which are still unresolved in the unit and the landlord’s timeline to clear them.
- The oldest open violation on record dates to 2022 — why has it stayed open this long, and is it in or near this unit?
- DHCR’s most recent registration lists 55 rent-stabilized units here. Ask whether this specific unit is one of them, and ask the landlord for its legal regulated rent and lease history.
- Confirm the condition behind the most recent open violation was actually repaired, not just marked closed: Abate the infestation consisting of mice in the entire apartment.
- Confirm in person that the immediately-hazardous (Class C) conditions — typically heat, hot water, leaks, mold or pests — are genuinely fixed, not just marked closed.
538 East 21st Street sits in Brooklyn, ZIP 11226. The closest subway is Cortelyou Rd (Q) (6-minute walk), served by the Q line.
Building Condition
Oldest open violation: January 2022 · Most recent: September 2026. HPD marks a violation open until it is certified as corrected, so an old date can mean an unresolved condition or a repair that was never certified.
- 2026-09-20 "§ 27-2005, 2007 ADM CODE REMOVE ALL ENCUMBRANCES CONSISTING OF HOUSE HOLD ITEMS AT PUBLIC HALL, 1st STORY"
- 2026-04-25 "HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF MICE IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT D4, 4th STORY,…"
- 2026-04-25 "HMC ADM CODE: § 27-2017.4 ABATE THE INFESTATION CONSISTING OF ROACHES IN THE ENTIRE APARTMENT LOCATED AT APT D4, 4th STO…"
- 2026-01-15 "§ 27-2005 HMC: PROPERLY REPAIR OR REPLACE THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE ENTRANCE DOOR AT SOUTH WALL IN THE 1st ROOM FROM NORTH…"
- 2026-01-15 "§ 27-2005 HMC: PROPERLY REPAIR OR REPLACE THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE BASE CABINET DRAWER AT NORTH WALL IN THE KITCHEN LOCAT…"
- 2026-04-25
- 2026-04-25
- 2025-08-20
- 2025-08-05
- 2025-08-05
- Class C · 19 open · penalty 285 · (15/ea)
- Class B · 18 open · penalty 90 · (5/ea)
- Class A · 10 open · penalty 10 · (1/ea)
- 2026-06-03 · Apt B1 · NON EMERGENCY · WATER LEAK
- 2026-06-03 · Apt B1 · NON EMERGENCY · PAINT/PLASTER
- 2026-04-21 · Apt D4 · NON EMERGENCY · PLUMBING
- 2025-10-20
- 2025-09-26
- 2025-04-25
- 2024-05-09
- 2024-05-09
- 2024-09-23 "VIOLATION ISSUED-FAILURE TO FILE 2023 EXTERNAL LOW PRESSURE INSPECTION"
- 2016-11-14 "VIO ISSUED TO ELEVATOR - FAIL TO CORRECT DEFECTS ON 2014 CAT 1 INSP/TST"
- 2014-11-05 "FAILURE TO CERTIFY CORRECTION ON IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUS (CLASS 1) ECB VIOLATION"
6 open lead-paint hazard violations on record (most recent 2022). These are HPD violations recorded against the building — not a test of any specific apartment.
17 earlier hazards cited and remediated.
Under NYC Local Law 1 (Admin Code §27-2056.5), lead paint is presumed present in common areas and in apartments where a child under 6 resides, in multiple dwellings built before 1960 (this building: built 1931). The presumption stands unless the owner obtained a lead-free or lead-safe exemption from HPD. Those exemption records aren’t published as open data, so we can’t confirm one either way.
Also on record: 1 procedural §27-2056 violation (failure to file required lead paperwork, most recent 2022) — a records failure, not evidence of a lead hazard.
The Building
Neighborhood & Environment
~1 block 300m
~2-3 blocks
- HARRASSMENT 2: 131
- VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAWS: 118
- ASSAULT 3 & RELATED OFFENSES: 65
- PETIT LARCENY: 47
- OTHER STATE LAWS: 33
- Noise - Street/Sidewalk: 402
- HEAT/HOT WATER: 273
- Noise - Residential: 192
- UNSANITARY CONDITION: 151
- Noise - Vehicle: 129
- 871 OCEAN AVE
- 1155 FLATBUSH AVE
- 1200 FLATBUSH AVE
- P.S. 245
- P.S. 139 Alexine A. Fenty
- Central Brooklyn Ascend Charter School
- M.S. 246 Walt Whitman
- Fahari Academy Charter School
- Academy for College Preparation and Career Explora
- Fahari Academy Charter School
- Academy for College Preparation and Career Explora
- Science, Technology and Research Early College Hig
- Cortelyou Rd
- Beverley Rd
- Newkirk Plaza
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Caribbeing
- New Generation Elementary School
- Global Health Care Training Centre,i
- Sweet Serenity Success, Inc.
Internet providers serving this area
Internet providers available in this area — including fiber:
- Optimum Cable Fiber Up to 8,000 Mbps down · 8,000 Mbps up
- Verizon Fiber Up to 980 Mbps down · 880 Mbps up
How to check internet providers before signing an NYC lease →
Source: FCC Broadband Data Collection (NY, rev. May 2026). Wired broadband only — cable + fiber. DSL, satellite, and fixed-wireless not included. Block-level data; actual availability may vary by building.
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