This Hell's Kitchen Building Has The Most Violations In Manhattan

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — This week, the Public Advocate's office released its annual list of the worst landlords in New York as measured by open violations in their buildings — and Manhattan's worst offender is a site in Hell's Kitchen.

The historic Windemere building at 400 West 57th St. had 647 open violations on file during the past year with the city's Housing Preservation and Development Department — the most in Manhattan.

But unlike many of the other buildings on the list — which aims to expose poor conditions faced by tenants — the Windemere is empty.

According to Community Board 4, the landmarked building on the corner of 57th and Ninth Avenue has been vacant since 2007. Considered a prime example of Victorian architecture, it was built in 1881 and first served as a residence for unmarried women, according to the Historic Districts Council.

By the 1980s, however, it had fallen into disrepair, and its owners were convicted on felony charges for violently harassing tenants. Only a handful of tenants remained by 2002, and the Windermere was designated a landmark in 2005.

Its unresolved violations on file with the city date back decades, ranging from poor paint jobs to missing windows.

That has landed the Windermere on the "Worst Landlords" list before, including in 2015, when its owner complained that the Public Advocate's office had "compiled a list without doing proper research" by including an empty building.

Recently, the building has shown signs of life. Last year, the building re-emerged after decades behind scaffolding, and last month, management presented a plan to CB4 to renovate the building's storefronts along 57th and Ninth Avenue by repairing its original cast-iron columns, restoring brickwork, and adding cornices and bay windows.

The board unanimously passed a resolution supporting the renovation, although it would not include any of the building's dwelling units.

In 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported that owner Mark Tress planned to convert the Windermere into a luxury hotel. Whether those plans are still in the works is unclear.