197 Hester Street
Manhattan · SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square, NY 10013
197 Hester Street is a 40-apartment building in SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square, built in 1910, managed by Ben Shu Management CORP. The City has 177 open housing-code violations on file for it, 36 of them immediately hazardous, about 4.4 per apartment, in a neighborhood where most buildings have none on record (HPD, as of 5 October 2026). Tenants filed 19 complaints with 311 in the past year, which the City closed in a median of 2 days (311, as of 5 October 2026). No tenant has reviewed it here yet. Everything above comes from the City's own records.
Managed by Ben Shu Management CORP
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- Units
- 40
- Year built
- 1910
- Neighborhood
- SoHo-Little Italy-Hudson Square
- Borough
- Manhattan
This building’s record with the City
Complaints tenants filed with 311, and repairs a City inspector has asked for. Most repairs are routine maintenance. Both describe the building rather than the people in it, and often predate the current management.
Problems here get fixed quickly, a median of 2 days from complaint to close, faster than the 3-day neighborhood median.
19tenant complaints
Filed with 311 in the past year · 17 the year before
177open repairs
Outstanding with HPD · about 4.4 per apartment
- Immediately hazardous
- 36
- Hazardous
- 86
- Non-hazardous
- 55
What the open repairs are about
- Stairs, floors and ceilings69
- Doors, windows and locks38
- Pests19
- Leaks, damp or mould13
- Smoke and CO alarms11
- Rubbish and cleanliness8
Housing Court
Tenants took this building's owner to Housing Court 1 time since October 2023.
A case is a filing, not a finding. Cases are settled, withdrawn and dismissed, and most end without a judgment either way.
Source: NYC 311 and Housing Preservation & Development. Look this building up · updated Oct 2026
What tenants say
Nobody has written about 197 Hester Street yet.
Does the heat hold in January? How long does the super take? Does management answer the phone, and were you charged what you expected? No public record answers any of that. Only someone who lived here can.
Be the first to reviewAbout a minute, no account, stays anonymous.