Here are Brooklyn’s Worst Landlords: 2019 Edition

The list of the worst landlords in NYC is out, and yes, NYCHA is still the worst. Of private landlords, the number one slumlord in 2018 has downgraded (or upgraded, depending on how you look at it) to number three, while last year’s number nine landlord has gone up to number one. We regret to inform you that the top three on the list are all Brooklyn landlords. Overall – 43 of the 100 are Brooklyn landlords, and yet again Flatbush, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Bushwick and Brownsville dominate, though there are plenty of names on it that were not there last year.

The list has been published by the public advocate’s office each year since current mayor Bill de Blasio introduced it in 2009. The public list is updated each year around Thanksgiving, averaging open complaints and wiping out any trace of past years’ misdeeds with new information. This year, it was Public Advocate Jumanne Williams’ first Worst Landlords List.

This year teh Public Advocate has named Jason Korn the worst landlord in the City. Korn has 15 buildings on the 2019 watchlist and an average of 2,877 open HPD violations. His number of evictions? – 8. The number of open Department of Building (DOB) violations? – 43.

Korn is the owner of 250 East 29th Street. That building alone has an average of 337 open HPD violations and five open DOB violations. 55 Winthrop Street, also owned by Korn and has an average of 334 open HPB violations, with eight open DOB violations. There were also two evictions in that building just this year. 776 Crown Street had four evictions this year, with an average of 165 open HPD violations.

According to the list, number two goes to Nathaniel Montgomery. Unlike Korn, Montgomery was not on the list in 2018. Montgomery has 22 buildings on the 2019 watchlist, with an average of 1,581 open HPD violations. There were also 26 open DOB violations and four evictions. His number one worst building? 378 Throop Avenue, which has an average of 278 open HPD violations. His property on 607 Willoughby Avenue has an average of only 70 HPD violations and 1 eviction. Luckily, there were no DOB violations.

Number three on the list goes to Eric Silverstein, who held the throne last year. Silverstein has four buildings on the watchlist, with an average of 1,144 open HPD violations and 24 DOB violations. His building on 261 Lenox Road has an average of 360 open HPD violations and nine DOB violations. His other building also includes 250 Parkville Ave (where water was scheduled to shut off in the days leading up to Eid in 2017, causing anguish to the tenants. Thanks to our reporting and swift intervention by the Public Advocate’s Office the water shutoff was averted.)

The next landlord with properties in Brooklyn doesn’t come up until number nine on the list. William Lucas was not on the list in 2018, but he has an average of 829 open HPD violations and 19 DOB violations in just two of his buildings. No evictions from him, though.

The next Brooklyn landlord comes up at 19. Meet Deodat Lowtan, a landlord who has 17 buildings on the watchlist, with an average of 583 open HPD violations and 17 DOB violations. His number one worst building? 315 Jefferson Street. Lowtan was number 40 on the list last year.

Elliot Frankle is number 20, and unlike Lowtan, Frankle was not on the list in 2018. Frankle has five buildings on the watchlist, including 5214 Church Avenue, which has an average of 299 open HPD violations and two evictions.

Number 22 is Elcorno Martin with seven buildings on the watchlist (including 560 Lincoln Place) with an average of 567 open HPD violations and eight DOB violations. Martin was not on the list in 2018.

Aron Kapeluschnik is number 27 on this year’s list. Last year, he was number 65. His nine buildings (which include 1236 Union Street) have an average of 531 open HPD violations and two DOB violations. He has also evicted two tenants.

The number 32 position is taken by Sigmund Freund. Freund was not on the list last year. He currently has an average of 482 open HPD violations for his six buildings on the watchlist (which includes 421 East 94th Street). He has made no evictions this year.

Uzy Stein takes number 33 with a whopping average of 475 open HPD violations for his two properties, which includes 245 Sullivan Place. Stein was number 15 last year, with 559 open HPD violations.

Ephraim Landau went from being number 21 last year to number 36 this year. Landau has an average of 473 open HPD violations for the three buildings on the watchlist. 820 East 10th Street, alone, has 192 open HPD violations.

Eli Maor is also a new name on the list. He is the number 37 worst landlord in the city. His nine buildings have an average of 464 open HPD violations and three evictions. The three evictions came from 569 Nostrand Avenue, which only has four units.

Alfred Thompson, another new name on the list, has 11 buildings with an average of 459 open HPD violations. His properties include 1515 St. Johns Place, which by itself, has 140 HPD violations. He is number 38 on the list.

Number 40 goes to David Deutsch, who was also not on the list last year. His eleven properties have an average of 454 open HPD violations. Abe Jaffa is number 41. His worst building, located at 2501 Newkirk Avenue has 179 open HPD violations just by itself. Jafa did not make the list last year. Chaim Landau made number 63 last year but upgraded to 44 this year. His three properties have an average of 438 open HPD violations.

Number 48 goes to Betty Lugo who has an average of 429 open HPD violations for just one property– 381 Vernon Avenue. That property also just has three units. Lugo was not on the list last year. Krishna Garib made number 51 last year but made 49 this year. Garib has three buildings on the watchlist with an average of 429 open HPD violations and ten DOB violations. Christopher Vasilakos is a newcomer this year with an average of 423 open HPD violations for his 3 properties on the watchlist. Alexander Horn is also a newcomer with an average of 421 open HPD violations. His worst building, 829 Halsey Street, has 114 open HPD violations just by itself.

Lorenzo Martin is also a newcomer and made number 52. His two properties which include 1586 and 1588 Eastern Parkway Extension made an average of 420 open HPD violations. Number 53 goes to Joseph Khalili with an average of 419 open HPD violations for his three properties, one of which includes 483 Pacific Street. Delia Johnson, also a newcomer, is number 58, with an average of 395 open HPD violations for the two units. Kenneth Ahn made number 59 with 392 open HPD violations for one property– 568 Lincoln Avenue. Ahn was not on the list last year.

Shea Sigal made number 64 on the list with an average of 388 open HPD violations for the nine properties. Sigal was not on the list in 2018. Olufemi Falade, number 66, also made the list for the first time with an average of 378 open HPD violations for five properties. Yitzchak Shwartz, number 67, made the list for the first time, too, with an average of 378 open HPD violations for three properties. Chaim Porges, also a newcomer, made the list at number 70. His three properties have an average of 369 open HPD violations. J Rosenfeld was number 86 last year. This year, Rosenfeld is number 71 with an average of 367 open HPD violations for two properties, which include 1088 Winthrop Street and 735 Ocean Avenue.

Frank Brown made number 73 this year. His three properties had an average of 364 open HPD violations. He did not make the list last year. Sanford Nager, number 75, has six buildings on the watchlist with an average of 363 HPD violations. Nager did not make the last year as well.

Last year, John Millien made number 70. This year, he made number 77 with an average of 358 open HPD violations for just one property, located at 719 Miller Avenue. Chaim Goldberger made number 53 last year. This year, he made number 78. There was an average of 357 open HPD violations for five properties. Uri Koptiev made number 79 on the list this year. His three properties had an average of 357 open HPD violations. He did not make the list last year.

George Wanat made number 35 on the list last year. This year, he is number 80 with an average of 356 open HPD violations for his two properties. Last year, Rubin Dukler made number 17 on the list. This year, Dukler is number 86 with an average of 344 open HPD violations for three properties. There were also seven evictions. Theodore Vallas is number 87 this year with an average of 343 open HPD violations. Last year, he was number 82. Maria Notias was number 56 last year. This year, Notias is number 90 with an average of 336 open HPD violations for four properties. There was also one eviction made.

Eden Ashourzadeh is a newcomer on the list at number 94, with an average of 325 open HPD violations for six properties in the borough. Joseph Aghelian is also a newcomer coming in at number 96 with an average of 318 open HPD violations for six properties. Last year, Brian Hodge was number 55 on the list. This year, he’s number 97 with an average of 315 open HPD violations for his one property at 827 Halsey Street. Joseph Emile made number 45 last year. This year, he made number 98 with an average of 315 open HPD violations for three units.

And finally at number 100 comes Solomon Landau who has an average of 310 open HPD violations for four properties. He has also made one eviction. Landau was not on the list last year.

We wrote down all of the Brooklyn landlords above, as the lists disappear each time the new one comes out. For the complete list for the current year, visit the Public Advocate’s page here. 

Correction: the list was started in 2009, not 2011.