With temperatures expected to be in the single digits in New York City today, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams unveiled his annual Worst Landlord Watchlist, spotlighting and shaming the worst landlords in the city as determined by widespread and repeated violations in their buildings.
Violations, as compiled and categorized by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, can include issues such as heat and hot water outages, rodent infestation issues, and collapsing infrastructure. At this time of year, heat and hot water outages account for a large proportion of violations, threatening the safety of New Yorkers facing extreme cold. This can lead to unsafe usage of space heaters in buildings, sparking deadly fires like those we have seen in the Bronx. Ved Parkash, landlord of the building that last week and displaced over 200, once topped the Worst Landlord Watchlist.
The #1 Worst Landlord in the city is Barry Singer, who tops the list with an average of 1804 open violations across his buildings on the list for the period ending in November of 2024. While this is Singer’s first time topping the Public Advocate’s list, he has a long, documented history of egregious neglect and misconduct dating back decades.
Singer’s buildings have also been the subject of numerous heat complaints. Over the eight months of the heat season included in this year’s list, Singer received 121 heat/hot water complaints over his seven buildings on the list. In the same period, there were a total of 832 heat and hot water complaints at the buildings on the list owned by the ten worst landlords in the city.
“While the worst landlords in the city raise the rents instead of the temperature, tenants are being left in the cold,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams in releasing the list. “The people on this list are at best dangerously negligent, and at worst, actively choosing to profit off the pain of New Yorkers living in unsafe, deplorable conditions. Last year’s worst landlord has been to jail twice since the list was published, a clear message to owners of what their tenants deserve, and the consequences of their inaction. This list is a way to turn up the heat on bad actors so that we can get real accountability and change.”
The top five landlords on this year’s list are:
- Barry Singer, with an average of 1,804 HPD open violations
- Alfred Thompson, with an average of 1,285 HPD open violations
- Karen Geer, with an average of 1,193 HPD open violations
- Melanie Martin, with an average of 1,132 HPD open violations
- Claudette Henry, with an average of 1,130 HPD open violations
View the full list of the 100 Worst Landlords, as well as the worst buildings in each borough, here.
Issues with conditions broadly, and heat specifically, are not only among private landlords. The New York City Housing Authority has demonstrated an inability to improve conditions, and as of Tuesday afternoon, there were unplanned interruptions of heat or hot water at 4 developments, covering over 6,600 residents. In December of 2024, there were about 611,000 open work orders, an increase of over 35,000 from the previous year. Perpetual mismanagement of NYCHA and an inability to keep the heat on makes the city itself the worst overall landlord for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
Last year’s Worst Landlord, Daniel Ohebshalom, has been incarcerated twice since the 2023 list was released. This year’s #4 landlord, Melanie Martin, is head officer for much of Ohebshalom’s portfolio, much like last years #1 on the list, Jonathan Santana. As part of this year’s launch, the Public Advocate pushed for legislation that would enhance transparency of ownership to prevent these kinds of tactics.
To unveil the list, the Public Advocate held a virtual press conference, which can be seen here, before traveling to meet with tenants in a worst landlord building. Photos will be available here. He also directed New Yorkers to go to LandlordWatchlist.com to learn about whether their landlords are featured on the list, how to report violations, and access resources for tenants to organize and seek relief.
“Too often, in the face of this neglect, we are frozen. Whether the heat is out or not, we feel powerless. And I want New Yorkers to know that we do have power,” said Public Advocate Williams. “This week we celebrate one of the greatest organizers of all time, including for housing justice, Dr. King. In his spirit and legacy, my office is committed to helping tenants organize and get what they demand and deserve. The Watchlist is a tool meant to inspire tenant organizing. We can’t sit frozen any longer, we need to get moving.”
This is the sixth Worst Landlord Watchlist from Public Advocate Williams, who is pursuing legislative solutions to the issues presented by the list, including the ‘Worst Landlord Law,’ which passed in 2023. A second bill, which is yet to pass, would require HPD to more quickly respond to and perform inspections of hazardous violations. Private landlords on the Worst Landlord Watchlist are ranked objectively according to data obtained by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Landlords are ranked based on the average number of housing code violations open per month on their buildings on the watchlist, using data from December 2023 to November 2024. More on the methodology is available here.
View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, and check to see if your address is owned by a 2024 worst landlord, by visiting LandlordWatchlist.com.
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