1641 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan

Pre-war West Harlem rental operating as an HDFC affordable housing property with recurring pre-war system strain.

Structured under a regulatory agreement as an affordable housing development, this property is tied to long-term community covenants. Dequan Watson is listed as the head officer, managing the 132-unit pre-war building. Three things to know:

A heavy heating record drives the building's open violations. The building is carrying 32 open violations, and the file shows 80 heat and hot water complaints over the last year. While these seasonal calls are generally closed out as temperatures rise, the volume of unresolved cases points to an older boiler system under steady strain.

Odor and air quality reports crop up on the surrounding blocks. There were 14 indoor air quality complaints within three blocks over the last year, with the most recent logged on July 2, 2026. These types of localized vapor and chemical odor calls often stem from shared building risers, ventilation shafts, or retail exhaust.

A single-elevator setup makes mechanical downtime highly disruptive. The building logged eight elevator complaints over the last year, with the most recent filed on July 8, 2026. Because this is a single-device setup, any mechanical issues mean using the stairs for the upper floors of the pre-war structure.

Quieter signals on this building and the blocks around it:

• 311 street noise complaints within three blocks, mostly loud music and block parties.
• 312 residential noise complaints on the surrounding blocks.
• 38 encampment calls on the surrounding blocks over the last year.
• The surrounding West Harlem blocks stay busy and highly active, while the pre-war building itself faces operational system challenges.

1641 Amsterdam Avenue is a 132-unit building in Manhattan, New York City (BBL 1020580001). This building is associated with Washington Heights-west Harlem HDFC. Brix tracks 29 open HPD violations for this property, along with inspection history, DOB filings, tenant complaints, and rent stabilization status.

Built in 1901, this elevator apartment building sits in Manhattan and is tracked by Brix using public NYC records from HPD, DOB, ACRIS, and 311.

Tenants have filed 330 HPD complaints about this building over the last five years, most often about heat/hot water.

What tenants have called the city about here over the last five years:

• Heat/hot Water: 212 complaints
• Unsanitary Condition: 34 complaints
• Door/window: 24 complaints
• Plumbing: 18 complaints

The most recent complaint on this building was filed August 7, 2026.

Conditions cited on open violations at this address:

• § 27-2013 ADM CODE PAINT WITH LIGHT COLORED PAINT TO THE SATISFACTION OF THIS DEPARTMENT ALL WALLS AND CEILING IN THE ROOM LOCATED AT B-ROOM 6J, 6th STORY, 1st
• § 27-2033 ADM CODE PROVIDE READY ACCESS TO BUILDINGS HEATING SYSTEM DOOR LOCKED AT CELLAR AT BOILER ROOM
• § 27-2031 ADM CODE PROVIDE HOT WATER AT ALL HOT WATER FIXTURES LOCATED AT B-ROOM 5J, 5th STORY, 1st B-ROOM FROM SOUTH AT WEST , SECTION ''SOUTH''
• (A) § HMC:FILE ANNUAL BEDBUG REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH HPD RULE AS DESCRIBED ON THE BACK OF THIS NOTICE OF VIOLATION OR AS DESCRIBED ON HPDS WEBSITE, WWW

The building last changed hands on August 9, 2019, according to recorded deeds.

Brix rating: Concerning (9/100). View the Building Report on Brix.

See every NYC building owned by Washington Heights-west Harlem HDFC on the landlord portfolio page.