Public Advocate Releases 2015 Worst Landlords Watchlist

Public advocate Letitia James recently released her annual list of the city's 100 worst landlords, based on data gathered from the Department of Buildings and Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The release of the annual roster, which is hosted on a searchable website for a year, coincided with a tenant rally organized by the public advocate’s office.

The watchlist features owners who have the most violations relative to the number of apartments they own. The list is intended to boost tenant awareness as well as pressure owners to fix up their buildings.

At the top of this year’s list is a landlord who owns 720 units in 11 buildings. His properties have accrued 2,235 violations from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and 134 complaints from the public to the Department of Buildings.

The release of the list was praised by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who first created it in 2010, when he was public advocate.