2 UES Buildings Still Owned By City's 'Worst Landlord,' Says List

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — So much can change in a year. But for tenants at two Upper East Side buildings, their "worst" landlord hasn't.

Johnathan Santana, who owns a pair of Upper East Side residential buildings, once again claimed the dubious title of "Worst Landlord" for at least the second year running, according to 2023's "Top 100 Worst Landlords Watchlist" released Wednesday by the Public Advocate's office.

One change from last year's list was the addition of two more Upper East Side buildings, owned by Aaron Jungreis, ranking at number 34 on the list and Magdalena Kosz, number 84 on the list.

Santana and his boss, notorious accused slumlord Daniel Ohebshalom, shared a new record for average open violations in the list's history at nearly 3,300 across the 15 buildings on the watchlist he's tied to, said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, whose office compiles the list.

Santana set the previous record last year at roughly 3,000.

"Johnathan Santana and Daniel Ohebshalom may be shameless in their negligence and predatory practices, as is clear in their record violations, but it’s clear that spotlighting and shaming them and other worst landlords in the city can have meaningful impact," Williams said in a statement.

Ohebshalom has been a fixture on the list for years — a distinction that arguably helped bring official scrutiny to longstanding tenant claims his buildings are filled with rodents, burst pipes and even mushrooms growing out of walls.

Scrutiny led to legal action by city officials, who this year won $4 million in three lawsuits against him.

Santana worked as the designated head officer for Ohebshalom, according to the watchlist.

Ohebshalom's attorney Simon Reiff didn't return a call for comment when Patch reached out on Wednesday.

The list is based on the average number of open violations recorded at each building between December 2022 and November 2023, according to the city's housing department.

The addition of two new "worst" buildings on the watchlist is notable, especially the one owned by Aaron Jungreis at 43 East 67th St., between Park and Madison avenues.

At the townhouse, a "just renovated" one-bedroom garden unit is currently listed for rent at $4,600.

The 33 current open violations at the building cite roach and mice infestations, broken doors and missing paint. And from the over 120 housing complaints filed with HPD this year, tenants made over 50 complaints of no heat or hot water in the building, or both.

Jungreis purchased the building in 2019 for $4.45 million, city records reveal, and he currently has seven buildings on the watchlist, with an average of 743 open violations, according to the watch list.

Magdalena Kosz is the head officer Upper East Side building, at 120 East 88th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, and it appears to be in better shape with respect to issues like mice, roaches and heat, according to public records.

But the building appears to have one major issue: Lead paint.

Since at least Feb. 2022, the city has been issuing repeated violations over Kosz's failure to remediate peeling lead paint from the building's walls, a major health hazard — especially to developing children. In the City Council this summer, a new law passed requiring landlords to tackle the problem with more urgency.

In total, Kosz has five buildings on the watchlist with an average of 458 open HPD violations, the watchlist shows.

The new list comes just days after a Bronx building with a history of violations partially collapsed. The building's head officer is affiliated with the 50th-worst landlord on the list, according to information provided by the public advocate's office.

See the full list here.

Reporter Matt Troutman contributed reporting and writing.