I lived in a rent stabilized apt for 17 yrs.
There are a few issues with my apartment. There is a food vent system on top of my bedroom (i am on the top flr and there is a restaurant downstairs) and it's on 10-12 hrs a day causing vibration and low frequency noise in my apartment. There has been some back and forth with the LL and the restaurant and i just want to leave. There are other issues with the apartment but this is one of the biggest. (some other issues, my mailbox is broken and i cannot get my mail there for the last 4 years which has been a mess and i had to get a PO box. Someone came in my apartment while i was away during Covid and took a s**t in my bathroom and my landlord won't let me install a top lock saying its illegal and he is the only with a key, we have roach problem in the building and mice from the restaurant below list goes on) I love my apartment and the area but getting older and just can't stand it.
So I am apartment hunting and found an apartment i really love, recently renovated with new windows and mailboxes, very clean building and is rent stabilized and the same rent as mine although a bit smaller.
I met with a broker who showed me the apartment, did not meet the landlord.
However, i did some research on the city's website under the building address and found numerous complaints specific to the unit i am about to rent with remarks such as "no heat", "cracked steam pipe", "radiator broken or missing".
The landlord did not register his building in the last couple of years, so the complaint history is only up until 2017.
As i mentioned all the complaints in the building are from this unit. I cannot however verify if they are closed or a if a violation was issued. What is the best way to verify this and with which agency? Currently i am using two websites: I can't reach the info on HPD.
https://whoownswhat.justfix.nyc/en/
https://www.addressreport.com/
I saw the apartment last week and the landlord clearly redid the bathroom, the kitchen, replaced the windows and everything inside including all appliances are new. But the kitchen floors were laminated and felt a bit squishy when walking on them, when the rest of the apartment is shiny hardwood floors. The radiator valve in the kitchen was broken and there was a wash cloth underneath with leak stain from it and also on the laminate floor, even though the laminate floors are new, i could see the leak stain on the floor. I wonder if he just did laminate because there was mold on the subfloor from previous leaks. Anyway, i am getting paranoid already.
The building itself is a prewar. I am assuming when the tenant left the unit it went into full renovation and these problems were remedied however part of me is still worried that the landlord fixed the cosmetics and the radiators, pipes or heat in general may continue to be an issue.
Is there any way to verify that? I saw the apartment twice and both times the temps were in the 70's so i could not verify if the radiators were working or not.
I plan to be there for a while and it is a big commitment for me to move, especially after 17 years. Another issue I have in my current apartment is no or very little heat most of winter and drafty windows. I find myself wear 3 sweaters and my electric bill is always so high in the winter from having almost no heat. My landlord replaced the boiler last year but we still have this issue in my building so i didn't want to move elsewhere to be in a similar situation.
Thank you!