By Hellen Zaboulani
The New York City Housing Authority has yet again been ranked as the New York City’s worst landlord. The 2019 public advocate’s annual worst landlord list is out, and it isn’t pretty.
As reported by the NY Daily News, in his first year on the job, Public Advocate Jumaane William again named the NYCHA at the top of the list, in compiling the annual watchdog list of troubling landlords. The 43-year-old advocate actually put the Housing Authority in its own separate category, recognizing that its size and scope are incomparable to private landlords. Last year, Public Advocate Letitia James was the first to bring shame upon the organization, ranking it among the worst landlords even though the list had traditionally been a tool to put private property owners on notice.
The besieged NYCHA has amassed close to 350,000 current outstanding work orders, that’s 100,000 more than last year’s total. A Spokesman for William’s office said that this is even after the appointment of a federal monitor and new chairman.
“I’ve been a tenant organizer, I’ve been a housing chair, and now as Public Advocate, I’m going to use my voice to amplify those tenants suffering because of the worst landlords in our city,” Williams said on Sunday. “The landlords on this list have failed to live up to their most basic obligations. Through legislation and organization, through political power and tenant power, we’re going to take them on.”
William’s ranking by no means spared private landlords. At the top five of his 100 worst rankings he named landlords: Jason Korn, Nathaniel Montgomery, Eric Silverstein, Abdul Khan and Chris DeAngelis. The violations stacked against them included: infestation of rats, mice and roaches, fire escape obstruction, lead paint hazards, unsafe wiring, mold, problems with hot water and or heat and water issues.
The top offender on the list of private landlords, an owner of 15 buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn with a total of 703 units, had 2,877 outstanding city violations in a monthly average for 2019, as per data from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
NYC’s worst 100 Landlords Watchlist is an information-sharing tool to notify tenants, public officials and advocates of which residential property owners disobey the city’s laws. Started in 2010, ironically when Mayor Bill de Blasio was public Advocate, the list aims to protect tenants’ rights and safety. Property owners in all five boroughs are ranked objectively based on the number of open violations against them. The list also features the top 10 worst Buildings in each of the five boroughs. In Brooklyn the worse five in order are at: 1593 Fulton Street in 11213 zip; 245 Sullivan Place in 11225; 381 Vernon Ave in 11206; 568 Lincoln Ave in 11208; and 261 Lenox Rd in 11226. The complete lists can be found on the public advocate’s website at https://landlordwatchlist.com.
