Tenants Mass-Mobilize at Buildings Owned by Worst Offenders
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released his annual ‘Worst Landlord Watchlist’ today, spotlighting and shaming the worst individual landlords in the city as determined by widespread and repeated violations in their buildings. This year, not only has the #1 Worst Landlord amassed the most violations in history, but the #2 has also surpassed any previous owner in the top spot – and both landlords are associated with the same company.
“Each hazardous violation on the Worst Landlord Watchlist, each building in disrepair, each landlord putting profit over people, represents New Yorkers suffering in their homes.” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Our top two worst landlords have more violations than anyone in the list’s history – and both represent the same company taking advantage of tenants across the city. This list is most powerful when used for organizing, and I’m hitting the streets with hundreds of tenants to give New Yorkers the tools they need to take action. With an administration committed to housing justice, tenant support, and using all of the tools available to deliver, I’m invigorated by the change we can create. With the resources of the city and the energy of tenants fed up with dangerous conditions and rising rents, we can overhaul not only buildings, but the entire system that has created this housing crisis.”
This year, the top two landlords, Margaret Brunn and Donald Hastings, are both associated with the same company – A&E Real Estate Holdings. Together, they 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, and is a demonstration of both the breadth of violations at their properties and the means with which corporate entities seek to avoid accountability with different LLCs and head officers in city records.
Throughout this week, in an independent effort, volunteers are canvassing buildings owned by A&E, speaking with tenants to help them organize, seek repairs, and urge them to attend the upcoming ‘Rental Rip-Off’ Hearings hosted by the Mamdani administration. Organizers joined the Public Advocate for a rally outside 80 Woodruff Avenue in Brooklyn, and the Public Advocate, who began his career as a tenant organizer over two decades ago, will be joining volunteers to knock on tenant doors later today.
The list is designed to serve as a tool for information, organization, 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.
The top five worst landlords this year include:
View the full list of the 100 Worst Landlords, as well as the worst buildings in each borough, here.
Holding the worst landlords accountable requires collaboration across governing partners, and with the new administration taking office has come an increased focus on taking on the worst offenders. After revitalizing the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants on his first day in office Mayor Mamdani has continued to use the powers of the city to get relief for renters. Last week, the city settled a lawsuit with A&E Real Estate which will mandate some repairs – but many more properties and hazards exist not only across their portfolio, but across the entire list.
Long-term success in improving housing conditions will require sustained investment in enforcement, including reversing the cuts to staffing from the previous administration at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Department of Buildings. It is virtually impossible to meet the scope of necessary repairs without substantially increasing staffing at the, and in particular, adding additional HPD code enforcement inspectors to manage the workload.
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. In November of 2025, there were about 612,000 open work orders, a near-identical number to the previous year. Perpetual mismanagement of NYCHA has made the city itself the worst overall landlord for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
This is the seventh 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.
The increase in scrutiny that accompanies the list has helped bring about consequences for the worst actors. The 2022 and 2023 Worst Landlord, Daniel Ohebshalom, has since been incarcerated twice related to his failure to make repairs.
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. More on the methodology is available here.
View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, and check to see if your address is owned by a worst landlord, by visiting LandlordWatchlist.com.
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