Gotham has topped its ‘worst landlord’ of 2025 – and he or she’s made historical past with essentially the most violations of any landlord on file, in accordance with a new report launched Wednesday by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Margaret Brunn, president of large New York Metropolis landlord A&E Actual Property Holdings, scored a record-setting 4,872 open violations with Housing Preservation & Improvement company throughout her 24 buildings between November 2024 and October 2025, Williams mentioned.
“Every hazardous violation on the Worst Landlord Watchlist, every constructing in disrepair, every landlord placing revenue over folks, represents New Yorkers struggling of their houses,” Williams mentioned in a Wednesday assertion.
“Our high two worst landlords have extra violations than anybody within the listing’s historical past – and each symbolize the identical firm profiting from tenants throughout the town.”
The runner-up on the shameful listing additionally surpassed any earlier proprietor within the high spot, Williams mentioned – and, for the primary time, each landlords holding the highest spots work for a similar firm.
Donald Hastings, the agency’s asset supervisor, touts 36 buildings with a complete 3,899 open violations. Collectively, the duo reps 60 buildings throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens with a mean of 9,000 open violations, Williams mentioned.
Final week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani introduced $2.1 million in civil penalties towards A&E Actual Property Holdings to handle tenant harassment and unsafe situations throughout 14 of its buildings.
The settlement additionally forces A&E to repair greater than 4,000 constructing violations throughout the buildings, plus mandates prohibiting tenant harassment sooner or later.
“Each tenant in New York Metropolis has a proper to a protected and livable residence and our administration is taking decisive motion to ship precisely that,” Mamdani mentioned in a press release.
“This settlement will carry actual accountability and aid for the tenants of those buildings, who’ve been affected by poor situations and harassment for a lot too lengthy.”
Williams famous neglectful company entities use completely different LLCs and head officers — like Brunn and Hastings on completely different A&E properties — in metropolis data to “keep away from accountability” altogether.
A number of the most vile allegations towards Brunn and Hastings’ buildings embrace unresolved mice and roach infestations, faulty doorways and treacherous fireplace escapes.
The general public advocate mentioned volunteers this week are canvassing buildings owned by A&E — one of many metropolis’s largest landlords — to talk with tenants. Volunteers will assist them manage, struggle for much-needed repairs and encourage them to attend the Mamdani administration’s upcoming ‘Rental Rip-Off’ Hearings.
Different violators named to the annual shaming listing embrace Barry Singer (2,885 violations), Joseph Cafiero (2,871 violations) and Peter Wonderful (2,206 violations).
The worst landlord from 2022 and 2023, Daniel Ohebshalom, was even jailed twice as a consequence of failure to make repairs.
Williams famous the brand new Mamdani administration has introduced an “elevated focus” on landlord accountability, together with by re-establishing the Mayor’s Workplace to Shield Tenants led by advocate Cea Weaver.
The general public advocate added that “long-term success” in bettering the town’s housing situations would require reversing cuts to DPH and Division of Buildings staffing.
“With an administration dedicated to housing justice, tenant assist, and utilizing all the instruments accessible to ship, I’m invigorated by the change we are able to create,” Williams added.
“With the sources of the town and the power of tenants fed up with harmful situations and rising rents, we are able to overhaul not solely buildings, however all the system that has created this housing disaster.”
