Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams announced the findings of the first-ever mid-year analysis of the Worst Landlord Watchlist, a supplement to the annual list which is intended to demonstrate the regression and/or progression of the landlords featured.
For the mid-year analysis, Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Housing Maintenance Code Violations were tracked from December 2020 to May 2021 in order to follow developments at these buildings since the original inclusion on the Worst Landlord Watchlist.
Across all buildings on the watchlist, there was a 2.65% decrease in the average number of open violations when comparing the mid-year analysis average and the 2020 watchlist average.
These results, while preliminary, could indicate that some of the worst landlords are taking steps toward repair at their most egregious buildings. However, historical data also indicates that spring and summer months show a reduction in violations generally, as frequent issues such as heat and hot water outages become less prominent. The 2021 list, released in December, will demonstrate a more complete picture of progress or regression by property owners featured.
"The findings of our mid-year analysis are encouraging, suggesting that at least some landlords on the list have responded to their placement on it by attempting to resolve open violations," said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "At the same time, these six months do not tell the whole story, and this analysis does not account for every bad action. Every violation that remains represents an issue faced by a tenant in our city. If landlords on the 2020 watchlist are able to sustain and expand on this progress across their portfolios, their standing should improve next year- and most importantly, tenants will see the benefits in their homes."
From December 2020 to May 2021, among the top five worst landlords on the 2020 list, these were the results of the analysis:
- Jason Korn had an average of 1137 open violations per month, a 37.60% decrease across buildings featured on the list
- Lewis Barbanel had an average of 1172 open violations per month, a 15.26% decrease across buildings featured on the list
- Robert Raphael had an average of 1123 open violations per month, a 8.62% decrease across buildings featured on the list
- Abdul Khan had an average of 1183 open violations per month, a 1% decrease across buildings featured on the list
- David Blau had an average of 912 open violations per month, a 4.2% decrease across buildings featured on the list
While rankings from the 2020 list are not affected by this analysis, the mid-year assessment offers an opportunity for New Yorkers to see whether bad actors have allowed conditions to stagnate or further deteriorate, spotlighting any changes in conditions of featured buildings - though it does not provide insight into the rest of a landlord's portfolio.
This information empowers tenants to put pressure on bad landlords to more urgently address conditions. It also encourages landlords to improve, presenting an ongoing opportunity for owners operating in good faith to show progress by addressing conditions at their buildings. Landlords will remain in their existing ranking until the new list is released at the end of each calendar year.
Public Advocate Williams also urged tenants to use the resources available to them to correct bad conditions within their buildings, including reporting issues to the city, saying, "Too often tenants suffer in silence instead of employing the tools at their disposal when landlords are unresponsive or problems are persistent. By filing a complaint with 311, tenants create a record of a building or unit issue and increase the urgency of resolving it."
The Public Advocate is currently advancing the Worst Landlord legislative package, which includes measures to expedite HPD' response to immediately hazardous violations and to prevent landlords from self-certifying that a violation has been resolved.
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