Landlord Who Put the Hell in Hell’s Kitchen Ordered to Cough up $4.2 Million

Infamous Manhattan landlord Daniel Ohebshalom has been hit with a total of $4.2 million in penalties and fines, after being sued by city agencies three separate times.

“Our administration has a clear message to those who harass tenants: You are breaking the law, and we will hold you accountable. We can and will go after landlords who neglect dilapidated housing conditions and deprive New Yorkers of much-needed homes by permitting illegal short-term rentals to proliferate,” Mayor Adams said in a statement hailing the judgements.

The first $3 million or so was obtained in September–over the course of two suits–by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Civil and criminal judgements were levied against Ohebshalom–as well as co-defendants Gustavo Santana, Belmont Ventures LLC, and Robin Ignico–for defying various court orders, which were issued as far back as 2022 on Washington Heights buildings in his portfolio.

For example, the defendants failed to rectify housing code violations for a property located at 709 West 170th St., as they had previously been instructed to do under an “Order To Correct.” Such shortcomings, cited by the HPD in the form of tenant affidavits, included: not hiring a superintendent, not supplying a boiler with the maximum amount of fuel, not fixing exposed electrical wiring, not eliminating mold, not supplying smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and not exterminating rats and roaches.

Psiquis Gonzalez, a tenant at 709 West 170th St., noted that “we have had to deal with poor conditions and harassment at the building for more than a decade. These poor conditions continue to be bad including, but not limited to, an infestation of roaches and no hot water for the past seven days.”

Further hearings related to the Washington Heights violations are scheduled for November 15.

In an October 23 settlement secured by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), more than $1.1 million was added to the previous penalties. This suit targeted Ohebshalom and a rash of new co-defendants, such as Keystone Management Inc. (managers) and Highpoint Associates XII, LLC (owners). The relevant properties in the settlement were located at 410 W. 46th St., 412 W. 46th St., and 452 W. 36th St.

The housing violations in the latest suit involve skirting rules that banned short-term rentals harassing existing rent-stabalized tenants in the process. Essentially, Ohebshalom & Co. converted rent-stabilized units into less-than-30 day rentals, pushing out longtime residents in a feverish quest to attract market-rate rents in Hell’s Kitchen. In the settlement, he acknowledged that it is his duty to prevent such a scenario from occurring.

Other notable officials weighed in on the judgements against Ohebshalom.

“Illegal hotel and short-term rental landlords are looking to make a quick buck off of unsafe apartments, jeopardizing the health and safety of long-term tenants, and worsening New York’s housing crisis,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said.

“I applaud the bravery of tenant leaders to bring attention to this notorious bad actor and fight for better conditions, and I commend the efforts of HPD and the Office of Special Enforcement for their actions to protect residents and New York’s housing stock,” he added.

“Bad landlords like Daniel Ohebshalom must be held accountable for their actions, and I’m thrilled that today there is the beginning of justice for my constituents,” State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Hell’s Kitchen rep, pronounced.

Yet it was New York State Assembly member Tony Simone, a fervent opponent of the landlord in question, who provided perhaps the most fiery condemnation of the man haunting his district.

“Daniel Shalom is a notoriously vile, cruel landlord who has been harassing and neglecting tenants throughout New York City for years. Justice is being served today by penalizing his criminal actions,” he thundered in a statement.

An attorney for Daniel Ohebshalom did not respond to multiple requests for comment.