NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams has released the 2021 edition of the “Worst Landlord Watchlist,” which identifies “which residential property owners consistently flout City laws intended to protect the rights and safety of tenants.”
The list includes the worst 100 individual landlords – but for the fourth year in a row, the very worst was the New York City Housing Authority. According to the report, NYCHA’s average number of open work orders is 459,558, and the dollar amount needed to make all necessary repairs is a whopping $45,232,900,906.
Advertisement
This year’s list includes five landlords who own buildings on the Upper West Side. Between them, a total of eight Upper West Side buildings are on the list.
The rankings are from 1-100, with # 1 being the worst and # 100 being the “best” (in this group).
We’ve listed the Upper West Side landlords and buildings included in this year’s “Worst Landlord Watchlist,” as well as individual address reports (if you click the links you can scroll down to view complaints and violations).
Alben Sagan: The 93rd Worst Landlord in NYC
15 West 75th Street (Google Maps)
Sagan owns 3 buildings which made the list, and all of them are in the West 70s. This year, he’s had an average of 365 open HPD violations and has gotten 2 DOB violations. In the past two years, he’s been issued 12 tax liens.
Upper West Side Buildings on Watchlist:
122 West 71st Street: 10 units, 129 HPD violations (2021 average), 4 tax liens in the past two years. View address report. 47 West 74th Street: 10 units, 85 HPD violations (2021 average), 4 tax liens in the past two years. View address report. 15 West 75th Street: 41 units, 151 HPD violations (2021 average), 2 DOB violations, 4 tax liens in the past two years. View address report.Juan Lara: The 65th Worst Landlord in NYC
515 Cathedral Parkway, at 110th between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave (Google Maps)
This landlord only has one building on list, but he’s managed to secure an impressive position with it.
Upper West Side Building on Watchlist: 515 Cathedral Parkway: 91 units, 450 HPD violations. View address report.
Advertisement
Eric Borkowski: The 55th Worst Landlord in NYC
700 Amsterdam Avenue (Google Maps)
Borkowski has 4 buildings on the list, 2 of which are on the Upper West Side. He has a total of 49 units, has had an average of 465 open HPD violations this year, has gotten 2 DOB violations, and has been issued 4 tax liens in the past four years.
Upper West Side Buildings on Watchlist:
700 Amsterdam Avenue: 13 units, 218 HPD violations (2021 average), 1 DOB violation, 4 tax liens in the past two years. View address report. 698 Amsterdam Avenue: 13 units, 131 HPD violations (2021 average), 1 DOB violation. View address report.Michael Daniel: The 41st Worst Landlord in NYC
215 West 109th Street (Google Maps)
Four of Daniel’s buildings are on the watch list, and one of those is on the UWS. His portfolio includes 154 units, and he’s had an average of 512 open HPD violations in 2021 while receiving 9 DOB violations.
Upper West Side Building on Watchlist: 215 West 109th Street: 25 units, 130 HPD violations (2021 average). View address report.
David Deutsch: The 36th Worst Landlord in NYC
250 West 72nd Street (Google Maps)
Deutsch owns 11 buildings (with 54 total units) on the Watch List, one of which is on the UWS. This year, his average number of open HPD violations was 536, and he was issued 2 DOB violations.
Upper West Side Building on Watchlist: 250 West 72nd Street: 12 units, 55 HPD violations (2021 average). View address report.
I’d like to hear their side of the story. Williams is a perennial candidate. Picking on landlords is easy. Get a real job Williams.
Dial 539.
Woohoo! My landlord used to be #19, then fell to #45 and now isn’t on the list at all. Since nothing’s changed, that just means to me all these folks got worse. Or maybe it’s because my landlord is airbnb-ing empty apartments instead of renting them to city residents, and those people don’t file complaints with the city.
A well-placed donation can have that effect.
For 45 billion dollars they could tear down all the horrible projects, and build some more livable things as replacements.