Mayor Eric Adams touted a major legal victory last week against one of New York's "most notoriously bad landlords."
The city won $4 million through three lawsuits against Daniel Ohebshalom, or Daniel Shalom, and his business affiliates, Adams announced on Thursday.
The Office of Special Enforcement netted $1.1 million from one of those lawsuits, according to the city, for outstanding fines regarding "tenant harassment and illegal short-term rentals" in Ohebshalom owned buildings in Hell's Kitchen and midtown.
Three buildings on West 36th Street and West 46th Street earned about 100 violations in 2019 after OSE officials responded to the residences for reports of illegal hotel activities. In its lawsuit, the city claimed Ohebshalom brought in roughly $300,000 in revenue after converting several rent-stabilized units into illegal rentals.
On top of that, the buildings suffered from neglect and left residents living in unsafe conditions. Investigators had found fire damage, unsafe wiring, broken floors, large cracks in walls, among others concerns.
Attorney information for Ohebshalom was not immediately known.
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A tenant living in one of the Hell's Kitchen buildings told Gothamist about the alleged harassment from building managers and intruders gaining access through unlocked doors.
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“It’s like a horror movie. Literally Hollywood could rent it out as a horror movie,” Marc Kessler said. “This is not a secret. Hell, we are not quiet about it.”
The outlet reports Ohebshalom's managing agent took the top spot in last year's "Worst Landlord List" published by the public advocate.
Last week's settlement follows to lawsuits from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development that brought in $3 million for ignoring court orders and racking up 650 housing code violations on just two properties in Washington Heights.
The city said tenants in the West 170th Street buildings recently went without heat and hot water for a week.
“Our administration has a clear message to those who harass tenants: You are breaking the law, and we will hold you accountable,” Adams said in a statement. “We can and will go after landlords who neglect dilapidated housing conditions and deprive New Yorkers of much-needed homes by permitting illegal short-term rentals to proliferate.
