March 21, 2024

Daniel Ohebshalom will serve up to 60 Days on Rikers Island for endangering tenant health and safety, neglecting two Washington Heights Buildings with 700 open violations and dangerous conditions  

NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York City’s Sheriff’s Department have successfully secured the arrest of one of the city’s most notoriously negligent landlords, Daniel Ohebshalom. Ohebshalom is being held accountable for egregious neglect of tenant health and safety in two Washington Heights buildings.

Ohebshalom turned himself in to the NYC Sheriff this afternoon after a warrant for his arrest was issued on March 8. The arrest warrant was issued after Ohebshalom failed to comply with the civil contempt finding by the NYC Housing Court Judge Jack Stoller in February 2023. As a consequence, he will now serve up to 60 days in jail at Riker’s Island in New York unless and until he corrects nearly 700 violations at 705 and 709 170th Street in Manhattan. The arrest serves as a strong reminder to New York City landlords that this administration will not tolerate housing violations or tenants being forced to live in unsafe conditions.  

"This administration is committed to New Yorkers having safe, quality, affordable housing, and landlords cannot evade their responsibility to tenants and City law," said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. "Daniel Ohebshalom's arrest, following his years' long neglect in fixing housing violations, is an important lesson to anyone who allows unacceptable housing conditions to persist."  

“After years of property neglect, Daniel Ohebshalom is being held accountable for leaving tenants in hazardous, unhealthy housing conditions. I appreciate the work of HPD and the Sheriff to protect and support tenants’ access to safe, quality housing,” said Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. 

 "Slumlords in New York City are officially on notice. Landlords in New York City will not get away with putting our families in unsafe, unhealthy, and downright unlivable conditions,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “Today, justice is being served, and tenants are one step closer to getting the conditions that they not only need but deserve,”   

Sheriff Anthony Miranda stated, “The NYC Sheriff’s Office will continue to work with our partners at HPD to arrest these egregious offenders who disregard the health & safety concerns of our community.”  

Ohebshalom and his buildings have repeatedly appeared on lists of the worst landlords in New York City. The violations cited are extensive and include serious, immediately hazardous conditions that threaten not only the residents’ quality of life but their health and safety. Conditions include visible peeling lead paint, roach and mice infestations, inadequate electricity supply, and mold.  

"I've long said that the only two ways to stop the abuses and negligence of the worst landlords in our city were to arrest them or take their buildings away -- and now, Daniel Ohebshalom has experienced both. He has spent years at the top of our Worst Landlord Watchlist, hiding behind other associates, but now his actions, and the harm he has caused, are clear,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "I commend the city for this decisive action -- accountability is the best route to improving landlord practice and the conditions at their buildings. We can’t stop at one building or owner – we need to change the systems that have permitted putting profit over people for too long, and impose severe consequences for severe negligence."  

“In the midst of a housing crisis, it is criminal to operate homes for New Yorkers with a myriad of tenant violations. Housing justice means accountability, dignity, and relief. Today, we provide tenants who have languished under the neglect of a citywide unscrupulous landlord a semblance of justice and determination towards change. We look forward to working with HPD to remedy these harms and follow up on needed repairs. Housing is a human right, and New York City residents deserve to live in dignified and safe housing,” said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.  

"Today's arrest of Daniel Ohebshalom underscores a fundamental principle: New York's unwavering dedication to upholding the rights of tenants and ensuring the accountability of landlords who shirk their responsibilities. Every person deserves the sanctuary of a secure home, shielded from the blight of neglect, irrespective of their circumstances - no tenant should feel alone in confronting landlord misconduct. Let this mark the dawn of a new era, where every tenant finds assurance in their rights, and negligence finds no harbor in our city." - Senator Jackson 

Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said, “Bad landlords must be held accountable when they blatantly violate and ignore the law. I’m pleased that Daniel Ohebshalom, the worst landlord in New York City according to the Public Advocate’s annual Worst Landlords list, has been arrested. Ohebshalom has racked up over 700 violations across just two buildings in Manhattan, and violated court orders to make repairs, not only breaking the law but jeopardizing the health and safety of his tenants by doing so.  I want to thank New York City Housing and Preservation Development, Manhattan Legal Services, and the New York City Sheriff’s Office for their work investigating Ohebshalom’s criminal violations and ensuring that he be brought back to New York to answer for his crimes. Ohebshalom’s arrest demonstrates that if landlords in New York City abuse their tenants they will have to face the consequences.”  

Assemblymember Tony Simone said, "Daniel Ohebshalom is a criminal. He has consistently harassed tenants and neglected his buildings, causing hazardous conditions for the people who live in them. I welcome the news that he has done the right thing by turning himself in to the authorities and is on his way to jail where he belongs. I have been calling for Ohebshalom to be jailed for months, and I am glad to see that justice is being served in the name of the tenants he has abused. I applaud the city for all the work they have done to bring this man to justice; let this be a warning to other crooked slumlords that when they mistreat New Yorkers, there will be consequences."  

"Today marks a significant victory for our constituents as slumlord Daniel Ohebshalom is on his way to jail. This arrest brings a measure of justice and hope for better living conditions to all his tenants. Our message is clear: in New York City, those who exploit and mistreat tenants will be held accountable, and we will continue to fight for safe and dignified housing for all," said Councilmember Erik Bottcher.  

History of HPD Action at 705 and 709 170^th Street  

HPD was steadfast in advancing litigation while partnering with Manhattan Legal Services and the tenants in these buildings to support their separate litigation to address the years of living with unsafe conditions and mismanagement.   

HPD first initiated comprehensive litigation against the property in 2021 after inspections and investigations by HPD’s Anti-Harassment Unit identified these buildings as two in a portfolio of Daniel Ohebshalom buildings with significant violations which were continuing to be neglected by the owners.   

In January 2023, HPD placed both buildings in their Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP) -- one of the agency’s strongest enforcement programs and accountability tools -- to make emergency repairs and address longstanding issues. Over $48,000 in AEP fees were assessed against the property, and AEP conducted emergency repair work addressing conditions like leaks, mold, and self-closing doors.

 After Ohebshalom failed to comply with the AEP program, HPD filed additional litigation, seeking contempt, including jail time and civil penalties. Housing Court found the landlord in criminal and civil contempt of multiple court orders, consent orders, and interim agreements to improve conditions at 705 and 709 West 170th Street in Manhattan; and ultimately held that the city was entitled to over $3M in civil penalties. According to the Court, “The most striking factor informing the Court’s discretion is the duration of the contempt proceeding.  The Court held Respondents in civil contempt as of February 2, 2023, more than thirteen months before this writing. Moreover, the sheer volume of extant hazardous and immediately hazardous violations bespeaks the extent of Respondents’ contempt.”    

Additional Enforcement Protecting Ohebshalom Tenants   

In October of 2023, in addition to the $3 million obtained by HPD in its two cases, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) secured more than $1.1 million in payments of penalties and outstanding fines regarding tenant harassment and illegal short-term rentals in three buildings in Midtown Manhattan and Hell’s Kitchen.    

In November 2023, HPD announced that the agency prevailed in its case before Housing Court, seeking the appointment of a 7A administrator to take over the management of one of Ohebshalom’s buildings in Hell’s Kitchen at 410 West 46th Street. HPD sought the appointment of a 7A administrator in that building due to Ohebshalom’s failure to maintain the building in a condition that protects the life, health, and safety of the tenants living there. The administrator, Fernando Alfonso from CFF Consulting is responsible for managing and maintaining the building with the rent being paid by the tenants and revitalizing the building with capital funding to elevate standards and expedite essential repairs, ensuring tenants' needs are met. HPD has already committed approximately $1 million in capital funding for the 7A administrator to install a new roof and new heating plant and conduct extensive plumbing and electric work in that building with work to begin in the spring. Furthermore, Ohebshalom is prohibited from collecting rent or having any presence in the building.   

Over the past year, HPD brought more than 10 motions for contempt and civil penalties for failing to comply with court orders to correct housing code violations at seven other Ohebshalom buildings, commencing new litigation, and entering $750,000 in judgments for failing to pay civil penalties agreed to in settlements.  

###   

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the nation’s largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Its mission is to promote quality housing and diverse, thriving neighborhoods for New Yorkers through loan and development programs for new affordable housing, preservation of the affordability of the existing housing stock, enforcement of housing quality standards, and educational programs for tenants and building owners. For full details visit www.nyc.gov/hpd and for regular updates on HPD news and services, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @NYCHousing.