In 2021, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Manhattanville — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes an apartment house, about 105 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.
2021, an apartment house, about 105 years old: 11 items flagged: 4 roof, chimney and attic; 3 kitchen; 3 rooms. As recorded: flat roof, rubber membrane, partial and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked roof; attic: no storage, passive ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; rock foundation, supporting walls; hot water off the boiler; 40 amps sub panel circuit breakers (Challenger), BX wiring, cast iron supply pipes, public water; double-hung and thermal/insulated windows, hardwood t&g floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Roof material is asphalt fiberglass for about 3/4 of roof and the remainder appears to be rubber membrane painted silver”; “Area outside of roof entrance door has water under roofing material and open at seams”; “Many areas throughout roof are missing mineral if left unrepaired or painted with silver roof paint, these areas will wear out and leak”; “Asphalt fiberglass flat roofs generally last from 18 to 20 years depending on weather conditions”; “Flashing on small roof, for entrance to elevator shaft, incomplete to copping stone”; “If left unrepaired leaks will result in elevator shaft”; “Broken glass on large stairwell roof from broken skylights repairs”; “Three glass panes are broken in skylights”; “Three cast iron plumbing vent pipes are leaning one resting on parapet wall with flashing cracked”; “Leader pipe dropped and elbow missing from small roof over entrance”; “Splash block needed under all small roof leader pipe elbows”; “Safety Item: Fire escape as seen outside master bedroom window is rusting with paint peeling”; “Floor uneven, water damaged, open spaces between board and finish worn out”; “Doors have so many layers of paint they are difficult to close”; “Pantry shelves, walls, ceiling and floor need to be repaired”; “Windows difficult to open, tracks worn and won't stay up”; “Floor uneven, water damaged, open spaces between board and finish worn out throughout apartment”; “Dinning room, R/S window track worn sash does not sit square”; “Dining room L/S window track worn and difficult to close”. Also noted: “Radiator not supported well by water damaged floor in dining room”. On the day: 34°F, clear, frozen ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces NW. Not inspected that day: ceilings; floors; hot water systems, controls, chimneys, flues and vents; insulation in attic; insulation under floor system; normal operating controls; operation of gfci; roof structure and attic; service and grounding equipment, main overcurrent device, main and distribution panels; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: chimneys, flues and vents; clothes dryer vent piping; cooling and air handler equipment; dishwasher; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; microwave cooking equipment; range hood; ranges/ovens/cooktops; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; vapor retarders; 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.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Manhattanville inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10027: 1943 (Manhattan: 1951). Of 28,038 units, 48% predates 1940; 12% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 16% and the 1940s at 7%. 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: 105 years old. (ACS)
54% utility gas, 23% electricity; fuel oil 17% against 15% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Manhattan home oil spills under the borough, not Manhattanville. A gas conversion can leave a tank behind. An abandoned tank is most likely in a house that was converted from oil. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
44% buildings of 50 or more units, 22% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 14% buildings of 10 to 19 units; 16% owner-occupied (Manhattan: 25%). With 66% 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)
3 flood-insurance claims from zip 10027 since 1979: 183rd 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: Manhattanville (zip 10027) 1943, 17%, 16%; West Harlem (zip 10026): built 1949, oil 17%, 23% owner-occupied; Manhattan Valley (zip 10025): built 1938, oil 23%, 31% owner-occupied; Washington Heights (zip 10032): built 1938, oil 21%, 8% 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: Harlem · West Harlem · Manhattan Valley · Washington Heights · Upper West Side · Carnegie Hill · all 250 towns.
His Manhattanville file goes back to 2021. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.