After releasing his annual Worst Landlord Watchlist yesterday, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and tenants across the city are working to hold the worst landlords accountable and build tenant power.
This year, not only had the #1 Worst Landlord amassed the most violations in history, but the #2 had also surpassed any previous owner in the top spot – and both landlords are associated with the same company – A&E Real Estate Holdings. Together, officers Margaret Brunn and Donald Hastings account for 60 buildings and an average of nearly 9,000 open violations during the list’s assessment period. This is the first known instance of the top two landlords representing the same entity.
After unveiling the list, the Public Advocate joined volunteers from NYS Tenant Bloc and Our Time for an Affordable NYC to canvass buildings owned by A&E, speak with tenants to help them mobilize, and ask them to attend a general tenant meeting convened by advocates on January 31. He first spoke with residents of 80 Woodruff Avenue in Brooklyn, a Margaret Brunn building where the list was released, before later joining organizers in Jackson Heights, Queens and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
In conversations with a range of tenants across buildings and boroughs, the Public Advocate heard about and witnessed a range of severe issues – lack of plumbing, mold, rodents, and more – with one commonality: landlord neglect.
“Not one tenant was surprised to learn that their landlord was named worst in the city,” said Public Advocate Williams. “It was powerful to speak to New Yorkers in their buildings, to be invited into their homes, and to hear the stories of the struggles they face as their landlord puts profit over people. People felt they had nowhere to go and no voice to fight back – and I hope that in our conversations, they saw the possibilities that can come from uniting across the city, bringing neighbors together to push back and pairing that tenant power with the city’s resources. A&E is finally facing the accountability it has earned, and it’s time to deliver tenants the justice and repairs they deserve.”
The Public Advocate began his career as a tenant organizer over two decades ago, and the list is designed to serve as a tool for information, organizing, and accountability, helping to empower tenants in buildings owned by the worst landlord to demand the repairs and justice they deserve while warning prospective residents about the conduct of the most negligent owners. 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. This is the seventh Worst Landlord Watchlist from Public Advocate Williams.
"Instead of fixing our homes, landlords are using our rent money to buy politicians and block tenant protections -- all so they can keep jacking up our rents," said Sumathy Kumar, Executive Director of the NYS Tenant Bloc. "Today we're proud to stand with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams to expose the worst of the worst. These slumlords think they can get away with it. They can't. Tenants are the majority in New York. It's time for every tenant to join the Tenant Bloc, organize with our neighbors, and win the safe, stable, and affordable homes we all deserve."
“Slumlords’ business model is neglect and displacement,” said Jeremy Freeman, Executive Director of Our Time for an Affordable NYC. “We applaud Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for calling it what it is, and for standing with tenants who are building collective power and defending their homes. Together, we can win the affordable New York we all need and deserve.”
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 2024 to November 2025.
View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, and check to see if your address is owned by a 2025 worst landlord, by visiting LandlordWatchlist.com.