551 West 161st Street
Top insights
- More open HPD violations than ~88% of buildings in this ZIP (92 open)
- 14 open hazardous (Class C) violations
- Built before 1939 (1910) — likely subject to NYC lead-paint rules
Class B
Class C
past 12 months
rent-stabilized with
DHCR (most recent year)
units (PLUTO)
past 12 mo (150m)
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.
551 West 161st Street
Open in Google Street View ↗
- City records show 92 open HPD violations, 14 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 1991 — why has it stayed open this long, and is it in or near this unit?
- We found no DHCR rent-stabilization unit count for this building. That is not the same as the building being market-rate — a registration can be on file with no unit figure, or not have been filed at all. Ask the landlord directly whether the unit is rent-stabilized, and request your own rent history from DHCR.
- Confirm the condition behind the most recent open violation was actually repaired, not just marked closed: Provide an adequate supply of heat from an approved central heating system, or an approved….
- 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.
551 West 161 Street sits in Manhattan, ZIP 10032. The closest subway is 163 St-Amsterdam Av (C) (2-minute walk), served by the 1, A, B, C, and D lines.
Building Condition
- 2026-04-29 "(A) § HMC:FILE ANNUAL BEDBUG REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH HPD RULE AS DESCRIBED ON THE BACK OF THIS NOTICE OF VIOLATION OR…"
- 2026-02-09 "§ 27-2028, 2032 ADM CODE PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF HEAT FROM AN APPROVED CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM, OR AN APPROVED SYST…"
- 2026-02-09 "§ 27-2005, 27-2007, 27-2041.1 HMC, §238, § 309; § 107 (2) ( C) MDL AND 28 RCNY §25-171: REPLACE OR REPAIR THE SELF-CLOSI…"
- 2026-01-17 "§ 27-2005 ADM CODE REPAIR THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE PLASTERED SURFACES AND PAINT IN A UNIFORM COLOR AT CEILING IN THE BATH…"
- 2026-01-17 "§ 27-2005 HMC: PROPERLY REPAIR OR REPLACE THE BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE EXHAUST FAN AT CEILING IN THE BATHROOM LOCATED AT APT…"
- Class C · 14 open · penalty 210 · (15/ea)
- Class B · 52 open · penalty 260 · (5/ea)
- Class A · 26 open · penalty 26 · (1/ea)
- 2026-02-07 · Apt 2F · EMERGENCY · HEAT/HOT WATER
- 2026-01-16 · Apt 2F · EMERGENCY · HEAT/HOT WATER
- 2025-12-17 · Apt 2F · EMERGENCY · HEAT/HOT WATER
- 2022-01-05 "FAILURE TO CERTIFY CORRECTION ON IMMEDIATELY HAZARDOUS (CLASS 1) ECB VIOLATION"
- 2018-04-06 "VIOLATION ISSUED FOR FAILURE TO FILE ANNUAL BOILER 2016 INSPECTION REPORT"
- 2017-02-24 "VIOLATION ISSUED FOR FAILURE TO FILE ANNUAL BOILER 2015 INSPECTION REPORT"
5 open lead-paint hazard violations on record (most recent 2006). These are HPD violations recorded against the building — not a test of any specific apartment.
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 1910). 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.
The Building
Neighborhood & Environment
~1 block 300m
~2-3 blocks
- HARRASSMENT 2: 156
- ASSAULT 3 & RELATED OFFENSES: 135
- PETIT LARCENY: 118
- FELONY ASSAULT: 81
- DANGEROUS DRUGS: 74
- Illegal Parking: 979
- Noise - Street/Sidewalk: 448
- HEAT/HOT WATER: 415
- Noise - Vehicle: 251
- Noise - Residential: 237
- 162 PARKING OPS LLC
- WEST 161ST PARKING CORP
- MI BANDERA GROCERIES & MEATS, INC
- P.S. 004 Duke Ellington
- WHIN Music Community
- P.S. 028 Wright Brothers
- Community Health Academy of the Heights
- JHS 164 Edward W Stitt
- M.S. 326 - Writers Today & Leaders Tomorrow
- Community Health Academy of the Heights
- Gregorio Luperon High School for Science and Mathe
- JHS 164 Edward W Stitt
- 163 St-Amsterdam Av
- 157 St
- 168 St-Washington Hts
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Grade A
- Morris Jumel Mansion Inc
- Boricua College
- P.s. 004 Duke Ellington
- Broadway Malls
- Dance Project Of Washington Heights
- Community Health Academy Of The Heights
Internet providers serving this area
Internet providers available in this area — including fiber:
- Verizon Fiber Up to 2,300 Mbps down · 2,300 Mbps up
- Spectrum Cable Up to 1,000 Mbps down · 1,000 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.
Market & Availability
Latest news from Weverit.
Tenant guides, law changes, and neighborhood reports — written in plain English, sourced from the same public records that power Weverit building reports.
August 2026 NYC Housing Lotteries: Who Qualifies
36 lotteries, 1,171 affordable units — who qualifies by income, plus rents, AMI bands and application windows, from public records.
Read article →
NYC's Smallest Apartment Buildings Have Four Times More Dangerous Violations Per Apartment Than Its Largest
We measured open HPD violations per apartment across NYC buildings. Buildings with six units or fewer carry four times the immediately-hazardous violations per apartment that buildings of 38+ units do — and they are the least likely to draw attention.
Read article →
Pets in your NYC apartment: the no-pet clause, the waiver rule, and what your landlord can actually enforce
NYC's Pet Law gives tenants who openly keep a pet for 3 months legal protection against no-pet clauses. Here's exactly how it works.
Read article →
How to find out who owns your NYC apartment building
Most NYC buildings are owned through LLCs. Here's how to trace the owner through ACRIS, HPD registration, and DOF records — step by step.
Read article →
How to check a NYC building's complaint history — and what it actually means
Complaints and violations are not the same thing. Here's how to read HPD and DOB records — and what the patterns actually tell you about a building.
Read article →
Certificate of Occupancy in NYC: what it is and why it matters before you sign
A C of O defines how a building can legally be used and how many units are permitted. Here's what to check — and what missing or mismatched records mean for tenants.
Read article →
Window guards in NYC: what your landlord is required to provide, and what changed in 2026
Updated January 2026: NYC window guard rules now cover balconies and additional situations. What tenants need to know.
Read article →Recent building reports from Weverit.
The most recently generated reports from real NYC addresses — independent due-diligence on buildings tenants are actually checking.
480 Bergen Street
Free public-records report for 480 Bergen Street: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →270 Fordham Place
Free public-records report for 270 Fordham Place: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →210 Lenox Road
Free public-records report for 210 Lenox Road: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →642 Decatur Street
Free public-records report for 642 Decatur Street: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →573 Drew Street
Free public-records report for 573 Drew Street: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →1500 Broadway
Free public-records report for 1500 Broadway: violations, complaints, rent stabilization, transit, schools.
Read report →Check another building
Pull the same public-records report for any NYC address — free, no signup.
Never miss an affordable apartment
Weverit's lottery digest tracks new NYC Housing Connect lotteries and no-lottery re-rentals — one curated email.
Get the lottery digest →