A documented tenant experience
My documented experience at 125 West 31st Street, including apartment conditions, active city violations, public reporting, and a related rent dispute.
Address125 W 31st Street
DOB / OATH1 active electrical summons
HPD2 open building violations
Current recordUpdated October 8, 2026
For other residents
If you have noticed persistent odors, warm air, openings around outlets or cabinets, or other problems in your unit, please get in touch. You can ask questions, compare experiences, or discuss help documenting conditions.
Other residents may have encountered similar openings, odors, or account problems. I have not confirmed that other apartments share the same conditions.
Tenant-to-tenant contact; not legal advice.
For similar problems involving Rose Associates, see the Rose Associates review or email contact@roseassociatesreview.com.
Current status · October 4, 2026
City record statuses can change. The descriptions below distinguish agency findings from my own experience.
DOB / OATH · Active · Class 2
DOB cited a receptacle outlet box set back more than one-quarter inch in combustible material. The city's public data lists summons 39199541R, issued August 6, 2026, as active.
View city summons data ↗HPD · Open · Class A
HPD says the required sign with the superintendent, janitor, or housekeeper's contact information was missing at the building entrance. Violation 19177270 was reported August 30, 2026.
View HPD violations ↗HPD · Open · Class A
HPD says the required inspection-visit posting was missing near the mailboxes in the first-floor public hall. Violation 19177271 was reported August 30, 2026.
View HPD violations ↗I have reported what I believe to be harassment to HPD, HCR, the Manhattan District Attorney, and the Department of Buildings. Those reports reflect my concerns; I am not presenting them as agency findings.
Financial dispute
I was promised a one-month concession in the form of American Express gift cards due 60 days after May 13, 2026. The stated due date was July 12, 2026.
I filed a small claims case, and management provided the gift cards on July 22, 2026—10 days after the stated due date.
Housing conditions
The proceeding concerns conditions I contend remain uncorrected in and immediately adjacent to the apartment.
I filed an HP action on July 20, 2026. Housing Court dismissed the petition without prejudice on September 23. I filed a motion to reargue or renew and a notice of appeal on September 29; those filings do not change the ruling unless a court grants relief.
October 8, 2026 · Account update
On October 8, 2026, I received an email from Get Covered stating that renters insurance was required under my lease and that the community would assess a noncompliance fee unless it received a qualifying policy. The notice specified $300,000 in liability coverage and directed me to upload insurance documents or purchase coverage through its platform. It also said a technical error had delayed the notification.
I dispute the asserted requirement. In my written responses, I cited Paragraph 79, the Renters Insurance Notification, and the Renters Insurance Penalty Rider. My position is that these provisions recommend insurance and limit the rider's $20 monthly penalty to leases that require it. I had already voluntarily sent insurance documentation to management on June 16; its June 17 email acknowledged receipt. I attached that acknowledgment to my October 8 follow-up.
I sent formal requests to Get Covered and building management seeking correction of the insurance-compliance records, withdrawal of the asserted requirement, and confirmation that no insurance-related fee had been or would be charged. I also asked who supplied my information and the instructions behind the notice, and requested preservation of the relevant records. I asked management to respond by 5 p.m. on October 14.
This followed the September 24 automated payment demand for $12,249.91, which differed from the resident ledger and Bilt balance. These incidents raise questions for me about the accuracy of third-party communications concerning my tenancy. The October 8 notice threatened an insurance fee; the emails do not establish that one was actually charged.
A visible gap around the cabinet electrical outlet where I have repeatedly perceived warm air and an odor.
Dirt, residue, and odor that I believe remain in the upper-right kitchen cabinet area.
Unusual warmth and a strong odor that I have repeatedly perceived in the refuse-chute room behind the apartment.
Why this record exists
After moving into an apartment at The Epic, I noticed a recurring foul odor that was generally strongest in the kitchen and main room. My apartment is directly behind the trash room, which I suspected could be related, although the photographs and measurements on this site do not by themselves establish the ultimate source of the air.
Over the following month, I documented conditions through photographs, maintenance requests, temperature measurements, inspections, and correspondence. Several items were repaired or replaced. My disagreement with management now concerns three conditions: the cabinet outlet opening, the cabinet area I contend remains dirty and odorous, and the refuse room, where I have repeatedly perceived unusual warmth and a strong odor.
“The purpose of this website is to preserve the record and let readers review the underlying evidence for themselves.
The photographic record
Each section distinguishes what I observed, what was later repaired, and what I contend remains unresolved.
Filed building plans
This image is an excerpt from fire protection sheet FP-13. It shows the kitchen, nearby refuse chute, and sprinkler locations. The full plan set also includes firestopping and sprinkler narratives, architectural details, and mechanical sheet M-14, which shows the kitchen beside the chute and riser area.
I photographed an opening behind the top of the kitchen cabinet before staff covered and plastered it. Given the active electrical summons, I have asked DOB to inspect the concealed wall condition. The drawings show the planned layout; they do not establish what is currently inside the wall or whether firestopping is deficient.
Open the full nine-page plan set (PDF) ↗
Exhibit D
Condition I contend remains unresolved
During the same investigation, I documented a visible gap around the electrical outlet inside the cabinet.
I have repeatedly perceived warm air and an odor in this area and believe the unsealed gap is relevant. Management has not agreed to seal it. The photographs show the physical opening; they do not, on their own, establish where the air originated.
EC § 314.20 · Flush-mounted installations
For a wood or other combustible finished surface, the box, ring, or listed extender must reach the surface or project beyond it. DOB's active summons 39199541R cites an outlet box set back more than one-quarter inch in combustible material—the condition addressed by this section.
View the DOB summons data ↗EC § 314.21 · Repairing noncombustible surfaces
At a flush box in a noncombustible surface, a broken or incomplete finish must be repaired so no gap at the box edge exceeds one-eighth inch. The published summons description does not cite § 314.21. The cabinet hides the wall area from an ordinary visual inspection; access behind it is needed to determine the surface, the size of any gap, and whether this section applies.
Read about the NYC Electrical Code ↗A documented measurement sequence
The July 16 sequence begins with a 78.0°F room reading at 4:29 p.m. Inside the microwave cabinet, the monitor reached 91.2°F at 5:18 p.m. Later room readings returned to 80.5°F and 78.6°F. The photographs document the readings, but the temperature change does not by itself identify the heat source.
+13°F documented rise
Condition I contend remains unresolved · 03
Refuse-chute room
The refuse-chute room immediately behind my apartment has repeatedly felt very warm to me and, in my experience, has frequently had a strong odor. Because the apartment shares a wall with this room, I believe its conditions may be relevant to the warm air and odor I have perceived around the kitchen cabinet and outlet gap.
The temperature observation does not establish the source or path of the air. The recurring refuse-room odor is the condition directly addressed by the maintenance rule quoted here.
Exhibit A
Primary evidence
After panels were removed from the original microwave, I photographed heavy dirt, residue, and debris inside areas that were hidden during ordinary use.
The photographs include close-up views through the ventilation openings and wider views showing the condition of the exposed appliance panels. Building management subsequently replaced the microwave.
What the evidence shows: visible dirt and debris inside the original microwave before it was replaced.
Exhibit B
Primary evidence
The original refrigerator contained standing water, dirt, and debris in interior areas that were not visible during an ordinary walkthrough.
I photographed those conditions before the appliance was removed. Following that documentation, building management replaced the refrigerator. I include the complete photo set so readers can assess the condition directly.
Outcome: the refrigerator was replaced after the condition was documented.
Exhibit C
Primary evidence
This was the area that consistently concerned me most. When temporary tape covering the cabinet area was removed, I perceived the odor as noticeably stronger. Photographs show dirt and residue beside the outlet and accessible wall cavity.
The after-cleaning photographs are presented beside the original set. I believe odor and dirty conditions in this area persist; management disputes that further cleaning or outlet sealing is required.
Exhibit E
Supporting evidence
During maintenance work, I documented an opening in the wall behind the upper kitchen cabinets. The opening provided a visible path into the wall cavity.
Building maintenance later repaired this opening. I include it because it provides context for why I continued examining other unsealed penetrations around the apartment.
Supporting record
Lower priority · resolved
The bathroom originally had openings around plumbing penetrations and a separate sewer-like odor. After those openings were sealed, that bathroom odor stopped. I present this as a smaller, resolved example of an observed condition followed by a repair—not as proof of the source of odor elsewhere.
How the record developed
I immediately noticed a recurring odor in the kitchen and main room and a separate sewer-like smell in the bathroom. Maintenance staff said they did not observe the apartment odor.
I photographed dirt and debris inside the original microwave, the refrigerator, the cabinet area, wall openings, the electrical outlet gap, and bathroom plumbing penetrations.
Management replaced the refrigerator and microwave, repaired one kitchen wall opening, sealed the bathroom openings, and inspected the apartment multiple times.
Get Covered emailed an asserted renters-insurance requirement and threatened a noncompliance fee. I disputed the requirement with Get Covered and management, cited the lease provisions, and supplied management's June acknowledgment of my insurance submission. I requested correction, confirmation that no fee would be charged, information about the data and instructions behind the notice, and preservation of records.
Management and I continue to disagree about the outlet opening, the cabinet area, and the refuse-room odor. DOB / OATH issued an electrical summons on August 6 that is listed as active. HPD currently lists two open Class A violations for building postings, but has not issued a violation for the odor or other conditions I reported inside my apartment. Housing Court dismissed my HP petition without prejudice on September 23; I filed a motion to reargue or renew and a notice of appeal on September 29. The separate Rose Associates review describes my later rent-account dispute and automated payment message.
Management response
Actions taken
Management’s position
Management stated that staff generally did not observe the odor during visits. It offered to let me terminate the lease early rather than immediately provide the concession or perform the additional cabinet-area work I requested. It later provided the gift cards on July 22, 2026.
My position
I appreciate the repairs and the offer to end the lease. Moving again would be costly and disruptive, particularly during Manhattan’s peak rental season. I am asking that the kitchen outlet opening be sealed, the cabinet cavity be properly cleaned, and the odor and heat conditions in the refuse room be addressed.
Conclusion
My objective is to preserve a complete record of what I experienced, including both the conditions I documented and the actions building management took in response. Descriptions of odor and suspected air movement reflect my personal observations and conclusions. The photographs and measurements are presented so readers can evaluate the underlying evidence directly. Housing Court dismissed my petition without prejudice on September 23, 2026. My later filings do not change that ruling unless the court grants relief.
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Last updated July 20, 2026
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