The head of New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development says the recent arrest of a “notorious” landlord known for racking up over 700 violations at his buildings should “be a message to bad residential property owners.”
During an appearance on “Mornings On 1” Friday, Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. said the agency is committed to pursuing legal action against bad landlords.
“If you abuse your tenants, if you demonstrate disregard for the law, for the housing agency of the city of New York, for court orders that direct you to fix things to make people safe: we're coming after you,” he said.
Carrión said New Yorkers should expect more oversight from his department, and encouraged residents to utilize the city’s 311 system to issue complaints about unsafe living conditions in their apartments.
“This is only the beginning. You're gonna see us going around the city, finding these bad landlords,” he said. “I've encouraged residents out there, use the 311 system so you can document this, so then we can work in partnership with the sheriff to get these bad owners.”
Working in partnership with the city’s sheriff’s office, HPD apprehended Daniel Ohebshalom, a landlord repeatedly listed among the worst in the city, on Thursday. He now faces up to 60 days in jail at Rikers unless he rectifies "nearly 700 violations" at two Washington Heights buildings, according to the agency.
Appearing alongside Carrión, NYC Sheriff Anthony Miranda said Friday he supported the arrest, saying, "It is the message that the mayor wants, it’s the message that comes out from the commissioner to be able to work together and hold them accountable."
While some small landlords have pushed back against the crackdown, saying fixing problems in their buildings is too costly, Carrión noted that the city and state offer multiple support programs.
“It is expensive and difficult to run residential real estate here in New York City, especially affordable housing, but we've given the owners the tools and we're working with the legislature there's actually legislation on the table right now in Albany that's being debated about how we support landlords to improve the conditions in their buildings. We also have a suite of loan programs. So we finance improvements,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Carrión did note that many landlords are responsible, but vowed that those who neglect their properties will be held accountable.
"Most of the landlords in New York City are good responsible owners," he said. "It's these bad apples that make it bad for everybody else and we're going to come after them."