Notorious Brooklyn landlord Jason Korn again topped New York City's Worst Landlord Watchlist yet again.
Korn has an average of 1,822 violations across 10 buildings on the list in 2020 and has also made repeated attempts to force tenants out of apartments amidst the pandemic and eviction moratorium.
Currently, Korn is threatening to evict a group of Crown Heights tenants who have organized a rent strike over Korn's neglect of their building that is riddled with maintenance issues and building code violations.
Joining Korn in the top spot is the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). It is NYCHA's third year atop the list, compared to Korn's second, and the public housing authority is again facing charges of mismanagement and failure to take sufficient action against individual landlords.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who released the list Tuesday, said throughout Mayor Bill de Blasio's term he had been one of the worst landlords in the city, adding as he went into his eighth year in office de Blasio could no longer blame the actions of previous administrations for NYCHA's problems. He said those issues came down to "the utter failures of the current one and the need to take ownership of those failures."
"Together with tenants and advocates across the city, we will continue to hold the mayor and everyone on this list accountable through legislation and organization."
The annual list catalogues the 100 most negligent landlords in the city as determined by widespread, repeated, and unaddressed violations in buildings on the list. This year, new data showed the worst landlords overwhelmingly operated in neighborhoods of color that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
"In a moment when New Yorkers are largely confined to their homes, facing a deadly pandemic and an economic crisis, the worst landlords in New York City continue to take advantage of New Yorkers in need, neglecting emergency repairs and allowing dangerous conditions to go unchecked while continuing to cash rent checks," Williams said.
"Again, we see the COVID-19 pandemic revealing existing inequities, as the worst landlords operate in some of the worst-hit neighborhoods in our city and target lower income communities of more color."
The list shows the ZIP codes with the highest-violation buildings corresponds with communities of color hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams said that fact reinforced the reality that racial and income inequity were primary factors in both the spread of the coronavirus and the pervasiveness of poor housing conditions and the landlords perpetuating them.
Bed-Stuy Councilmember and borough president hopeful Robert Cornegy said he would continue to use his voice to amplify those of tenants suffering because of the worst landlords in the city
"I want to let every tenant know: Don't let your address appear on Worst Landlords Watchlist. Do not wait until the last minute if you are not getting the services that you paid for. If your apartment is too cold, call your elected representatives sooner rather than later," he said.
"Landlords have a responsibility toward their tenants, and if there are resources that can help, we want to make sure the landlords know about the tools available to them."
He added bad actors needed to be called out in no uncertain terms.
According to the list, the top 5 worst individual landlords in New York City in 2020 are:
- · Jason Korn, with an average of 1,822 HPD open violations
- · Lewis Barbanel, with an average of 1,383 HPD open violations
- · Robert Raphael, with an average of 1,229 HPD open violations
- · Abdul Khan, with an average of 1,195 HPD open violations
- · David Blau, with an average of 952 HPD open violations
View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, and check to see if your address is owned by a 2020 worst landlord, by visiting LandlordWatchlist.com. Virtual tours and tenant testimonials are available here.
