Here Are NYC's 'Worst Landlords' For 2021: List

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Another year, another "Worst Landlord" Watchlist — here's which New York City property owners earned unwanted places on the annual compilation by the Public Advocate's office.

The report was compiled between December 2020 and November 2021, as the Public Advocate's office sampled the average number of serious, unresolved violations of the city's housing code at buildings around the city each month. Managing agents were then ranked by their average number of open violations, according to THE CITY, which first reported on this year's study.

It found that the worst offender in the five boroughs was David Schorr, a director at Sugar Hill Capital Partners. The 17 buildings citywide where Schorr was listed as the manager had an average of 1,442 violations combined.

One such building, 372 West 127th St. in Harlem, currently has 62 open violations, according to city records. Dating back to 2014, the most recently issued violations include reports of mice infestations, broken faucets and dishwashers, water leaking from a ceiling and hot water outages.

Others were not far behind: Abdul Khan averaged 1,302 open violations at his 12 properties, largely in the Bronx. Nathaniel Montgomery — a managing agent at the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation (NEBHDCO) — averaged 1,192 across that company's 17 buildings.

Here's the top five alleged offenders in this year's "Worst Landlord Watchlist":

1. David Schorr: 17 buildings, 1,442 average violations
2. Abdul Khan: 12 buildings, 1,302 average violations
3. Nathaniel Montgomery: 17 buildings, 1,192 average violations
4. Michael Niamonitakis: 10 buildings, 1,060 average violations
5. David Blau: 5 buildings, 1,050 average violations

One of Blau's buildings, on Rutland Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn, has 179 open violations, including a November inspection that found "roaches in the entire apartment," records show.

Schorr did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment, and declined to comment when reached by THE CITY. According to his LinkedIn, Schorr left Sugar Hill in September for a new role at the real estate company Fairstead.

In a statement, Sugar Hill Capital Partners said that "We respect the work of the Public Advocate but our inclusion on this watchlist is misleading."

"The list does not take into account poor conditions created by prior ownership or ongoing work and progress already made to improve those conditions," the statement read.

According to its website, the company first made inroads in Harlem in late 2018, when it acquired 53 buildings in Upper Manhattan whose prior ownership had "failed to maintain and improve the properties, affording Sugar Hill a significant value-add opportunity."

Niamonitakis's company, Meridian Properties, did not immediately respond to a request for comment; nor did the NEBHDCO. Patch was unable to find contact information for Khan or Blau.

See the Public Advocate's full report, including landlords' names and a map of buildings, here.