2016’s worst landlords spotlighted in new watchlist

Bad apples beware – the worst landlords in the Big Apple for 2016 have been picked.

Incorporating data from both the Department of Housing Preservation (HPD) and the Department of Buildings (DOB), the Worst Landlord Watchlist – created by former Public Advocate Bill de Blasio in 2010 and continued by current Public Advocate Letitia James – serves as a tool for residents, public officials and concerned renters to track illegal activity regarding buildings and property owners.

While last year’s list identified 3,393 landlords citywide, this year’s Watchlist highlights only the top 100 worst landlords and the top 20 worst buildings in each borough, allowing James’ office to “intensely focus and investigate the very worst actors,” according to the Public Advocate’s office.

“Every New Yorker deserves a safe and decent place to live, and every apartment must meet basic standards of decency,” said James. “The Landlord Watchlist has become a critical tool for helping tenants organize against unscrupulous landlords, has assisted with the criminal convictions of some of New York’s worst landlords, and has led to better living conditions for countless New Yorkers. We will never stop fighting for the housing rights of every New Yorker.”

In Brooklyn, several landlords on last year’s “top 10 worst” list are no longer included due to building improvements. Several others, however, remain and have acquired more violations to boot.

Harry Silverstein, for instance, who came in at number two on the list citywide last year, was identified as the worst in Brooklyn, a post he has not given up. Last year he was listed as having 408 units in seven buildings with 1,482 HPD violations and 81 DOB complaints. This year, Silverstein has 575 units in eight buildings with 2,032 HPD violations and 50 DOB violations.

For the first time this year, the list includes data on DOB violations, as opposed to DOB complaints.

Additional Brooklyn landlords included in the top 10 worst are Allan Goldman, number two on the list with 187 units in 25 buildings with 1,193 HPD violations and 15 DOB violations; Efstathios Valiotis, number three with 237 units in eight buildings with 1,077 HPD violations and 64 DOB violations; Martin Kirzner, number four with 280 units in 11 buildings with 1,036 HPD violations and 23 DOB violations; and Ved Parkash with 257 units in four buildings with 992 HPD violations and 28 DOB violations.

To be included in the list, a building must be a multi-family rental building, according to the public advocate’s office. Co-ops and condominiums are excluded, as well as rental buildings with fewer than three units. Each multi-family residential building that is registered with HPD is assigned a score based on the number of HPD and DOB violations issued to that building and the number of units in the building.

“The landlords on the Worst Landlord Watchlist don’t usually make the list because of sloppy management practices or by accident,” said Benjamin Dulchin, executive director of Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, Inc. “They make the list because too often they have a strategy to intentionally push tenants out of their affordable apartments in order to drive the rents up quickly. Affordable apartments are a scarce resource, and when one is lost to the city, it is lost for good. The Worst Landlord Watchlist is an important tool to shine light on the worst offenders, and we commend Public Advocate James for her staunch advocacy for tenants and affordable housing.”

“The Landlord Watchlist is a critically important resource for tenants, advocates and elected officials,” added de Blasio. “It helps us enforce our laws and, ultimately, ensure that landlords provide the safe and decent homes New Yorkers are entitled to. Public Advocate James has done an excellent job as she focuses on and improves this tool, and I look forward to continue working with her as we protect affordable housing throughout our city.”

For the full list, visit www.landlordwatchlist.com.