NYC'S Worst Landlord Owns Buildings In Wash Heights: New List

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A real estate company that owns two properties in Washington Heights earned the undesirable top spot on this year's "Worst Landlord Watchlist" — and over 20 other neighborhood buildings also cracked the list.

The Public Advocate's office compiled the annual report between December 2020 and November 2021 by sampling 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.

The city's worst landlord in the five boroughs, David Schorr, a director at Sugar Hill Capital Partners, has his two most penalized buildings in Washington Heights — both on 160th Street.

The 17 buildings citywide where Schorr was listed as the manager had an average of 1,442 violations combined.

None of his buildings had more Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations than his properties at 655 West 160th Street and 638 West 160th Street.

The two Washington Heights buildings, which both have 43 apartments, had 205 and 185 violations, respectively in the last year.

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.

Other notable takeaways from properties in Washington Heights making the list, included a row of buildings at 1, 3, and 5 Cabrini Boulevard.

22 Washington Heights Properties

• 545 West 158th Street
• 638 West 160th Street
• 655 West 160th Street
• 3856 Broadway
• 656 West 162nd Street
• 100 Audubon Avenue
• 273 Fort Washington Avenue
• 650 West 172nd Street
• 580 West 176th Street
• 600 West 176th Street
• 1 Cabrini Boulevard
• 5 Cabrini Boulevard
• 9 Cabrini Boulevard
• 90 Pinehurst Avenue
• 620 West 182nd Street
• 2461 Amsterdam Avenue
• 351 Audubon Avenue
• 550 West 183rd Street
• 2498 Amsterdam Avenue
• 552 West 185th Street
• 495 West 186th Street
• 561 West 186th Street

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

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.