57 Harlem Buildings Owned By NYC's 'Worst Landlords,' Watchlist Shows

HARLEM, NY — Tenants in dozens of Harlem buildings can make an unfortunate claim: their landlords are among the worst in New York City, according to a new report.

The Public Advocate's office on Tuesday released its annual "Worst Landlords Watchlist," which uses public data on housing violations to shame the property owners who keep their buildings in the worst shape.

One hundred landlords made the list, which is based on the average number of open violations recorded at each of their buildings between December 2021 and November 2022, according to the city's housing department.

Across Harlem, there are 57 buildings owned by those landlords, according to the list.

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The worst offender of all is a brownstone at 162 West 132nd St., just east of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard, which averaged a whopping 551 open violations. Its listed owner, Astley Groves, is not tied to any other properties, according to Justfix, but made the list based on this building alone.

Complaints about the brownstone filed with the Department of Buildings include claims of squatting and an illegally-built basement apartment, and "a huge amount of trash" blocking an exit.

Second-worst on the list is the six-story building at 228 West 147th St., between Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Frederick Douglass boulevards. Owned by Michael Daniel, who makes three other appearances on the list, it has averaged 362 open violations.

They include broken kitchen floor tiles, a lack of heat, missing carbon monoxide detectors and infestations of mice, rats and roaches, according to the city's Housing Preservation and Development Department.

The Public Advocate's office releases the "worst landlords" list every year as a watchdog measure.

This year, it appeared that private landlords racked up housing violations at a staggering level.

"Across the entire list, there were a staggering 69,018 violations, nearly a 30% increase from the previous year," Public Advocate Jumaane Williams tweeted. "Conditions continue to deteriorate even as the median rent in the city has massively increased."

But it should be noted that the 100 worst landlords listed are only the private landlords.

The city itself — NYCHA — also let conditions deteriorate, with 673,990 open work orders, Williams said.

"The city itself remains the overall worst landlord in New York City," Williams tweeted.

NYCHA, again, also deteriorated. This year, there are 673,990 open work orders, an increase of 73,510 over last year’s number. The city itself remains the overall worst landlord in New York City. pic.twitter.com/LyFLWU6why
— Office of the Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams (@nycpa) December 20, 2022

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed.