Maxwell-Kates
Managing agent — unlicensed in New York State
192 buildings. 787 Class C violations. No state license.
PORTFOLIO GEOGRAPHY
192 buildings.
THE PATTERN
Mid-range violation rate.
At 4.1 Class C violations per building, Maxwell-Kates sits toward the lower end of the firms we've scored. The firm is the HPD managing agent of record for 192 buildings carrying 787 total Class C violations. Not the worst — but in an unregulated industry, a clean firm-level rate is no guarantee for any one building.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR BUYERS
Considering a building managed by Maxwell-Kates?
Maxwell-Kates is a mid-to-large managing agent in our dataset, the HPD managing agent of record for 192 buildings concentrated overwhelmingly in Manhattan (170 of them), with a smaller footprint in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. Their 4.1 per-building rate is on the lower side, but that average conceals concentration: a handful of buildings carry most of the load. 1767 2 Avenue (62 violations), 35-20 Leverich Street in Queens (53), and 225 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn (40) together hold a meaningful share of the firm's 787 total hazardous violations. The firm-wide average says little about any individual building.
This matters for buyers. If you are looking at a Maxwell-Kates building in a prime Manhattan neighborhood — the Upper West Side, the Village — the building-specific numbers may be clean. But the portfolio also includes buildings where hazardous violations have piled up, and a low firm average can mask exactly the building you are considering. The only reliable signal is the building's own record, not the firm's headline rate.
Before purchasing in any Maxwell-Kates building, look beyond the firm-level average. Pull the building's specific HPD record. Ask the board when the last reserve fund study was conducted and whether they have ever had to levy a special assessment. Ask specifically about staff retention and response times — indicators of whether the building is getting the operational attention it needs.
Look up your specific building in our Building Reports database.
See our guide on offering plan red flags.
Use our 10 questions checklist.
THE REGULATORY VOID
No license. No exam. No oversight.
Maxwell-Kates is the HPD managing agent of record for 192 buildings containing roughly 14,000 residential units — and needs no state license to do so. In Florida, a Community Association Manager must pass a state exam, carry a bond, and complete continuing education. In New York, there is no equivalent requirement.
This means there is no government body you can complain to about Maxwell-Kates' management. No disciplinary board. No public complaint registry. No performance standards. The 787 Class C violations across their portfolio — conditions HPD classifies as immediately hazardous to life and health — trigger no regulatory consequence for the managing agent. A firm can run nearly 200 buildings across the city and answer to no regulatory authority for how it does so.
COMPARE
How does Maxwell-Kates compare?
TOP 25 BUILDINGS
Ranked by Class C violations.
| # | Address | Borough | Class C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1767 2 Avenue | Manhattan | 62 |
| 2 | 35-20 Leverich Street | Queens | 53 |
| 3 | 225 Eastern Parkway | Brooklyn | 40 |
| 4 | 839 West End Avenue | Manhattan | 37 |
| 5 | 90-11 35 Avenue | Queens | 34 |
| 6 | 310 West 99 Street | Manhattan | 32 |
| 7 | 731 Greenwich Street | Manhattan | 29 |
| 8 | 755 West End Avenue | Manhattan | 28 |
| 9 | 652 10 Avenue | Manhattan | 26 |
| 10 | 390 Maryland Avenue | Staten Island | 22 |
| 11 | 113 West 96 Street | Manhattan | 20 |
| 12 | 214 Clinton Street | Brooklyn | 17 |
| 13 | 675 West End Avenue | Manhattan | 15 |
| 14 | 382 Central Park West | Manhattan | 15 |
| 15 | 734 10 Avenue | Manhattan | 14 |
| 16 | 1967 Adam C Powell Blvd | Manhattan | 13 |
| 17 | 111 West 96 Street | Manhattan | 12 |
| 18 | 261 West 25 Street | Manhattan | 11 |
| 19 | 225 Lincoln Place | Brooklyn | 11 |
| 20 | 1646 3 Avenue | Manhattan | 10 |
| 21 | 357 East 50 Street | Manhattan | 10 |
| 22 | 340 West 55 Street | Manhattan | 10 |
| 23 | 17 Ft George Hill | Manhattan | 10 |
| 24 | 52 West 139 Street | Manhattan | 10 |
| 25 | 372 5 Avenue | Manhattan | 9 |
Source: HPD Violations (NYC Open Data). Class C = immediately hazardous.
RIGHT OF REPLY