Peeling of lead paint. Cockroach invasion. Flashing electricity. Type.
These are just some of the dangerous conditions that Big Apple’s “worst landlord” Daniel Ohebshalom allegedly ignored in two Washington Heights apartment complexes, city housing officials said Monday. did.
Officials said Ohe Shalom was issued a public arrest warrant and spent two months on Rikers Island due to nearly 700 public violations between the buildings at 705 and 709 170th Street. He was given time off and fined more than $3 million.
“The worst landlord in New York City is Daniel Oheshalom,” Adolfo Carrion Jr., director of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said at a press conference outside City Hall.
“The reason we’re going after this guy and what he’s doing is because of the lives that people were living there. It’s scary,” he continued.
“People are dealing with mold, leaks, pests (rats and cockroaches), peeling paint, lead paint, etc. Their children are exposed, and their seniors are exposed. It’s time to stop this nonsense. ” Carrion added.
The violations listed in Ohevshalom’s warrant are “extensive and include serious and immediately dangerous conditions that threaten the quality of life as well as the health and safety of our residents,” HPD said in a press release.
The warrant allows the New York City Sheriff’s Department to work with a California enforcement team operating in the Golden State, where Ohe Shalom lives.
“We are deadly serious about this job. If you mistreat New Yorkers where they live and don’t take care of their homes, we, as property owners, will call you out. I’ll go after you,” Carrion vowed.
The Housing Authority first took action in 2021 after its anti-harassment unit inspected and investigated the building in Washington Heights, according to a statement.
Last January, HPD moved both buildings into the Alternative Enforcement Program (which helps enforce codes and hold owners accountable) to make emergency repairs and address long-standing issues, according to the release. It is said that he did it.
AEP charged the property more than $48,000 in fees for emergency work that included repairing leaks, removing mold and installing self-closing doors.
But Mr. Ohebshalom did not respond, leading to further lawsuits that included claims for contempt of housing authority, jail time, and civil penalties.
The Housing Court agreed, saying the landlord was in criminal and civil contempt of several court orders, consent orders and interim agreements.
It also approved a fine of more than $3 million, saying “the sheer volume of existing dangerous and immediately dangerous violations speaks to its extent.” [Ohebshalom’s] despise. ”
“I use Ohebshalom as an example,” Carrion told reporters, noting that the city has a long list of alleged slumlords. “We’re after the others…we’re not going to let you get away with this nonsense.”
A judge first charged Oheshalom with civil contempt in January 2023 after he defied court orders for more than a year, but he did not hold the office of a well-known slumlord whose barbaric behavior has gotten him into legal trouble. He comes from a family.
“It’s very unfortunate that New York City residential real estate families are mistreating New Yorkers,” Carrion said. “And now there’s a second generation doing this? Clearly this family doesn’t care about other New Yorkers.”
“We all have a responsibility to our neighbors,” he continued. “Sadly, these clowns don’t care about their neighbors.”
Carrion said it’s relatively rare for landlords to end up in jail, but every few years the city catches up with an exceptionally bad prison.
HPD is also filing lawsuits against Ohebshalom citing poor conditions at several other buildings, the release said.
“This is the worst guy,” Carrion said. “So he has a huge portfolio of housing developments across the city and has consistently mistreated these residents.”
City officials are pursuing landlords at three buildings in Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen for crimes including tenant harassment and illegal short-term rentals, according to a release.
Last October, the city cracked down on more than $1.1 million in fines and unpaid fines related to these properties.
HPD has also filed nearly a dozen complaints seeking contempt and civil penalties for failing to comply with court orders to improve conditions at seven other properties Ohebshalom owns, the statement said. .
