NYC's 'Worst Landlord' Ordered To Fix 2 Inwood Buildings: HPD

INWOOD, NY — The notorious landlord Jason Korn, who topped the Worst Landlord Watchlist for the last two years, has agreed in a settlement with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to pay $235,000 in civil penalties for building violations and tenant harassment at six of his buildings, including two in Inwood.

Korn had been falsely certifying that he fixed violations while tenants dealt with roaches, mice, lead-based paint, water leaks, and other "gross building neglect," officials said.

As part of the settlement, Korn must fix all outstanding violations at the buildings within 90 days, HPD officials said.

The two buildings part of the settlement that Korn owns in Upper Manhattan are located at 192 Nagle Avenue and 200 Nagle Avenue.

The other four buildings included in the settlement are in Brooklyn.

"Landlords have a responsibility to provide safe housing for their tenants and when they fail to meet that responsibility, there needs to be consequences," said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. "Even while we offer assistance to tenants and landlords who are struggling to maintain their properties, landlords should know that HPD will also use the full weight of its enforcement capabilities if they repeatedly fail to uphold their obligation to ensure that New Yorkers live in safe and secure housing."

The agreement comes after HPD investigators visited the buildings more than 35 times to document hundreds of violations, officials said.

Korn owns a total of 10 buildings on the Public Advocate's most recent "watchlist" and was the subject of an average of 1,822 violations.

Inwood's 192 and 200 Nagle Avenue buildings were both on the Public Advocate's watchlist.

192 Nagle Avenue (All Numbers Are For 2020)

• Number of Units: 49
• Number of HPD Violations: 126
• Number of DOB Violations: 2

200 Nagle Avenue (All Numbers Are For 2020)

• Number of Units: 49
• Number of HPD Violations: 282
• Number of DOB Violations: 9

John Bianco, an attorney representing Korn, has contended problems with HPD's monitoring system and an "unfair methodology" by the Public Advocate are what led to Korn's spot on the list.

He said at the end of November that Korn had already been working on fixing many of the violations included in the settlement.

HPD's finding that Korn had been falsely certifying repairs stems from cases where inspectors couldn't get into apartments to check on conditions, thus leaving violations marked open, he claimed.

"We're confident Mr. Korn will no longer be on the watchlist in the upcoming years — most of these violations have already been removed and a good portion of the fines already paid," Bianco said. "...This [settlement] was in everybody's best interest to try and move forward."

Patch reporter Anna Quinn contributed to this report.