With no signs of slowing down, this has already been a record-setting winter in New York City. Central Park saw the most snow in a single day with 11.4 inches. It’s not just the snow that is coming down in record numbers. NYC is facing the coldest winter in 65 years, with this past weekend being in the single digits and lower.
Despite the NYC Heat Law, many landlords do not comply with heating regulations, resulting in many tenants reporting their buildings to 311. Each winter, RentHop analyzes the frequency of these calls throughout buildings, neighborhoods, and boroughs, finding that certain areas receive more heat complaints than others. Areas like Norwood (Bronx), Gerritsen Beach (Brooklyn), and Little Italy (Manhattan) continue to receive a high volume of heat complaints. The following describes where renters are more likely to be left out in the cold.
Key findings from this year’s report include:
- In total, 234,474 heat and hot water complaints were filed to 311 residents across New York City from December 1, 2025, to February 3, 2026, 11.24% more than last winter.
- After grouping complaints by day and address, we found 155,907 unique complaints, 9.93% more compared to the same period last year.
- Of the five boroughs in NYC, four received more heat complaints than last year, including the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. [Section “Heat Complaints by Borough“]
- Some of the worst heat violation offenders include 1040B East 217 St (1223 complaints / 97 unique), 2800 Creston Avenue (1,025 complaints / 108 unique), and 707 East 242 Street (748 complaints / 101 unique) [Data Table]
Heat Complaints by Borough
The Bronx
- The Bronx remains the coldest borough, receiving 51,326 unique heat complaints this winter as of February 16.
- Norwood is the coldest neighborhood in the Bronx, with 2,351 unique complaints, or 1671.04 complaints/10k renter-occupied units. Complaints decreased by 8.58% from last year.
- 6 of the 10 coldest NYC buildings reside in the Bronx.
Brooklyn
- Brooklyn received 44,229 unique heat complaints, increasing by 14.85% from last year.
- Flatbush remains the coldest neighborhood in Brooklyn, with 11,846 unique complaints and 1490.90 complaints/10k renter-occupied units.
Manhattan
- Heat complaints are up 13.08% from last year during the same period, with residents filing 36,841 unique heat complaints.
- In the coldest neighborhood, Harlem, heat and hot water complaints are up 19.21% from last year.
Queens
- Queens received 21,876 unique heat complaints this year, up 6.9% from last year, the most of all boroughs.
- Flushing is the second coldest neighborhood in the borough, where complaints are up 57.04%.
Staten Island
- Renters in Staten Island have filed 1,635 unique complaints as of February 3, 2026, down 3.37% from last year.
- The neighborhood with the most complaints, St. George, has 736.25 unique heat complaints per 10k renter-occupied units this year.
When Does the Heat Season Start?
Landlords in New York City must provide heat for all of their tenants from October 1st through May 31st. This period is referred to as the “Heat Season.” Heating requirements include:
- Between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM, if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees F
- Between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, if the inside temperature is required to be at least 62 degrees F, no outside temperature requirement
Many buildings in the city do not provide adequate heat for their residents, with some addresses receiving significant numbers of complaints throughout the Heat Season. Buildings like 31-35 Crescent Street in Queens and 2176 Tiebout Avenue in the Bronx received hundreds of complaints this year.
Surely, when tenants are suffering, they make dozens of complaints each day to 311. Therefore, to accurately measure the number of days a building goes without heat, RentHop grouped the heat/hot water complaints by address and created date. Complaints filed on the same day regarding the same building are considered one unique complaint. From December 1, 2025, the start of this Heat Season, to February 3, 2026, the city received 234,474 unique heat complaints, 11.24% higher than the total unique count of 210,780 in the same period last year.
Renters Suffer as Temperatures Drop Below Freezing
It is no surprise that when the temperature drops, renters are more likely to file a complaint, but by how much? We at RentHop visualized the correlation for you in Figure 1. As you can see, the recent cold waves have driven a surge in 311 calls”, with unique complaints shooting over 5,000 on January 24th, 25th, and 30th, when the lows in mid-teens. The volume of complaints 311 had to process soon dropped below 3000 as the temperature rose above freezing on February 3rd. With this year already
Mapping the 311 Heat Complaints by NYC Neighborhood
To fairly rank the neighborhoods, we further normalize the data by dividing the number of heat complaints by the number of renter-occupied units in a neighborhood retrieved via the 2021 American Community Survey (homeowners can control their heat and are therefore excluded from this study).
The map below illustrates how “cold” each NYC neighborhood is. The darker the shade, the more heat complaints per 10,000 renter-occupied units a neighborhood has seen this winter. Click on the neighborhood to learn more.
Neighborhoods in the Bronx received more heat complaints than the other boroughs. Out of the 20 coldest neighborhoods in New York City, 14, or 70%, are in the Bronx. Other areas of the city, like neighborhoods in Manhattan above Central Park and Central Brooklyn, receive frequent heat complaints as well.
These are the Coldest Neighborhoods in NYC
Figure 3 showcases the top 20 neighborhoods with the largest amount of normalized heat complaints this season, from December 1, 2025, to February 3, 2026. 17 of the 20 neighborhoods are located in The Bronx.
Gerritsen Beach took over first place this year, replacing Norwood. The neighborhood received 6333.33% more complaints than last year, with 3750 complaints per 10k renter-occupied units reported between December 1 and February 3, 2026. This sharp increase can be attributed to one specific address, 2265 Gerritsen Avenue. Overall, 17 out of the coldest 20 neighborhoods received more complaints this year than last year.
Little Italy remains Manhattan’s coldest neighborhood with 59.14% more complaints than last year. It’s worth noting that most buildings receiving complaints in Little Italy are older and smaller, built in the early 1900s and hosting fewer than sixteen residential units. As of February 3, the neighborhood had received 2,803.03 complaints per 10k renter-occupied units this heating season. Marble Hill ranks as the second coldest neighborhood in Manhattan, with a total of 2,083.82 unique complaints filed per 10k renter-occupied units, 43.78% worse than in the previous winter.
Winter Just Got Colder in These Neighborhoods
Figure 4 displays the neighborhoods with the greatest increase in heat complaints this year. Complaints in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn saw the highest percent increase. Meanwhile, renters in Staten Island saw two neighborhoods in the top 5 in complaint percentage increase. Grant City and Eltingville saw 357.14% and 176.92% increases, respectively.
Buildings with Frequent Heat Complaints
While some neighborhoods receive more complaints than others, certain buildings have a high amount of complaints as well. The following table displays the 100 buildings across the city with the highest number of heat complaints this year. If you’re looking to sign a lease, make sure to check your building against this list to ensure you’ll stay warm in the winter. You can further explore the data by sorting the data by column or doing a quick search using the search bar.
Buildings with Frequent Heat Complaints
While some neighborhoods receive more complaints than others, certain buildings have a high amount of complaints as well. The following table displays the 100 buildings across the city with the highest number of heat complaints this year. If you’re looking to sign a lease, make sure to check your building against this list to ensure you’ll stay warm in the winter. You can further explore the data by sorting the data by column or doing a quick search using the search bar.
