NYC’s ‘Worst Landlord’ is Finally Arrested, Taken to Rikers Island
Notorious slumlord Daniel Ohebshalom turned himself in to authorities in Manhattan, nearly two weeks after a New York City Housing Court judge issued an arrest warrant for his failure to make court ordered repairs. A spokesperson for the city’s housing department confirmed his arrest on March 21. He is incarcerated on Rikers Island.
| 24 Mar 2024 | 02:05
Protestors at a rally during the summer held photos which they said documented years of neglect and horrendous conditions inside buildings owned by the city’s “worst landlord,” Daniel Ohebshalom. (
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The exterior of Daniel Ohebshalom’s rental properties, 705 and 709 West 170th Street, in Washington Heights. (
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Daniel Ohebshalom, New York City’s “worst landlord” for two consecutive years, has been arrested, Straus News has learned. A spokesperson for the Housing Preservation and Development Department confirmed he had turned himself in on the afternoon of March 21, but did not immediately respond to further inquiries.
Manhattan Housing Court Judge Jack Stoller issued an arrest warrant for Ohebshalom on March 8, after he repeatedly defied court orders over the course of thirteen months, failing to address the hazardous conditions at two of his rental properties in Washington Heights. The buildings, 705 and 709 170th St., have accrued over 700 open violations, and tenants have lived with mold, peeling lead paint, and roach and rodent infestations.
In October, the city announced that Ohebshalom had been hit with $4.2 million in fines for operating illegal short-term rentals and maintaining deplorable conditions across several of his properties. One of them was in Hell’s Kitchen — HPD appointed a city administrator to take over management of that building, and Ohebshalom was barred from collecting rent on it.
The warrant orders Ohebshalom to serve up to 60 days on Rikers Island, until he complies with court orders to address the hazardous conditions at the rental properties.
Ohebshalom had been living in California, but had turned himself in at the Manhattan sheriff’s office around 3 p.m., a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department told Gothamist. He is being held on Rikers Island, according to Department of Correction records.
“It is an injustice to allow this landlord to continue to refuse meaningful repairs to the building that he is legally required to make while facing no accountability at all, at the same time that I face hazardous conditions posing a risk to my safety each day,” said Ana Aguiscia, a tenant of one of the Washington Heights properties, in court documents.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he hopes that the arrest of Daniel Ohebshalom, who has topped the city’s worst landlord for the past two years, is a warning to other slumlords. “Ohebshalom is an example, not an outlier. Hopefully today’s escalation is a sign of a renewed commitment by the city to holding bad actors accountable– and a signal to the worst landlords around our city that severe negligence will lead to severe consequences. 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.”