In 2020, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Lincoln Square — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a brick apartment building, about 51 years old.
Rated 4.9 on Google as of November 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
The report, as Lou wrote it up.
2020, a brick apartment building, about 51 years old: 5 items flagged: 3 kitchen; 1 roof, chimney and attic; 1 exterior. As recorded: flat roof, concrete roof tiles for walking and kemper roof system, seen from: walked; attic: no storage, none found ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; electric heat heat on electric, hot water off the boiler; 100-amp circuit breakers (Ite), BX wiring, cast iron supply pipes, public water, petac units; awning, casement and thermal/insulated windows, parqet floors, wood cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Roof drain over underground garage is clogged”; “Cracks in concrete curbing to balcony”; “Oven and charcoal broiler did not ignite”; “Charcoal broiler knob is melted”; “Water dispenser on door doesn't work, filter is clogged”; “Bulb out under stove hood”; “In entrance hallway, parquet floor is damaged”; “Safety Item: Built in fascia board is raised”. Also noted: “Brick front exterior was last pointed 6 years prior”; “Water heaters are 51 years old”; “Main gas shut off cocks in gas meter room”; “Sub panel in apartment entrance hallway”; “Two whole house electric meters”. On the day: 91°F, hot and humid, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces NE. Not inspected that day: emergency generator; insulation in attic; plumbing water faucets; roof structure and attic; sump pump; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: burner; chimneys, flues and vents; combustion air; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; microwave cooking equipment; pantry/closet doors; solid fuel heating devices; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Manhattan page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
The photograph is from Lou's own Lincoln Square inspection report, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10023: 1953 (Manhattan: 1951). Of 46,272 units, 44% predates 1940; 12% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 15% and the 1970s at 8%. An older house is not a worse house, but its wiring, plumbing and roof were installed under different rules and replaced piecemeal, which is what the inspection looks for. Lou’s reports here: 51 years old. (ACS)
46% utility gas, 24% electricity; fuel oil 22% against 15% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Manhattan home oil spills under the borough, not Lincoln Square. Ask about a tank, and for closure papers. A tank can be buried in the yard or sit in the basement, and a removed one should come with paperwork. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
69% buildings of 50 or more units, 12% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 9% buildings of 10 to 19 units; 40% owner-occupied (Manhattan: 25%). With 82% of units in buildings of 20 or more, many purchases here are apartments: the inspection covers the unit, and the roof, plant and risers belong to the board. Lou’s jobs here included a co-op apartment. (ACS)
Manhattan (reported by borough): 131 basement tests, average 2.09 pCi/L, 16 at 4 or above (12%). First-floor tests there: 68, average 2.7. The highest basement reading was 49.5 pCi/L. EPA’s action level is 4 pCi/L, and it advises testing every home whatever the area’s results. Radon testing is optional. (NYSDOH)
24 flood-insurance claims from zip 10023 since 1978, most in 1993 (4): 138th of the 189 zips on these pages. A claim count describes the zip, not the house. Flood zones follow the address. Check the address on FEMA’s map. (OpenFEMA)
The NYC Department of Buildings. Look the address up on BIS or DOB NOW. Your attorney usually runs the search. The inspection reports the condition of what is there and flags work that typically needs a permit, such as a finished basement, a dormer or a moved panel, so you know what to ask about.
By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Lincoln Square (zip 10023) 1953, 22%, 40%; Lenox Hill (zip 10065): built 1956, oil 8%, 33% owner-occupied; Upper East Side (zip 10075): built 1956, oil 14%, 46% owner-occupied; Sutton Place (zip 10022): built 1958, oil 12%, 48% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records, NYC water and sewer and the offering-plan rules for co-ops and condos: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Manhattan, so they are set out there with their sources instead of on each page.
Lou quotes the actual property, not a flat rate — what drives the price is size, age and what is included. The written report arrives the same day as a rule; a large or complex house can run to the next morning. Call or text 516-330-3870.
Lou covers Long Island, the five boroughs and Westchester from his base in Wantagh, and the archive behind these pages shows where that work has actually concentrated.
Nearby towns Lou has inspected: Upper West Side · Lenox Hill · Upper East Side · Sutton Place · Midtown · Yorkville · all 250 towns.
His Lincoln Square file goes back to 2020. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.