NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) -- Landlords can be a thorn in many New Yorkers' sides, but these 10 are the worst of the worst, according to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Williams on Wednesday revealed the 2024 list of New York City's worst landlords, collectively hit with thousands of city violations.
Barry Singer tops the list for the first time this year with an average of 1,804 open violations with the Housing Preservation & Development department over the past year, according to Williams' office. Singer runs seven buildings on the watchlist, representing 199 units, and he has issued seven evictions over the past two years, according to the public advocate.
"He has a long-documented history of egregious neglect and misconduct dating back decades,” Williams said.
Singer's buildings are in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
The city's fourth-worst landlord in 2024 is Melanie Martin, who Williams said is linked to Daniel Ohebshalom, a notorious list-topper arrested in March and sent to Rikers Island related to HPD violations at his Manhattan buildings.
He was sent back to jail in September for failing to improve conditions, according to HPD.
Martin is responsible for four buildings on the watchlist and had, on average, 1,132 open HPD violations over the past year. Her buildings are in Queens and Manhattan.
The landlords are "at best dangerously negligent, and at worst, actively choosing to profit off the pain of New Yorkers living in unsafe, deplorable conditions," Williams said.
Here are New York City's top 10 worst landlords of 2024, according to Jumaane Williams:
- Barry Singer
- Alfred Thompson
- Karen Geer
- Melanie Martin
- Claudette Henry
- David Tennenbaum
- Sam Klein
- Robert Kaszovitz
- Yonatan Bahumi
- Joseph Emile
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.
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