NYC's 'Worst Landlord' Indicted On 80 Counts In Historic Harassment Prosecution
Daniel Ohebshalom, notorious for being one of New York’s “worst landlords,” is serving a jail sentence for subjecting his tenants to unsafe living conditions, but his legal predicament seriously worsened this week.
Ohebshalom and four shell companies affiliated with him were indicted on 80 counts of harassing tenants of rent-regulated apartments, making false statements and endangering a child's welfare, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Wednesday.
Ohebshalom allegedly harassed tenants with poor living conditions in at least five Manhattan buildings so they would vacate their rent-regulated apartments, allowing him to sell the buildings for a profit.
Ohebshalom is the first landlord to be charged under new tenant protection enforcement laws, Bragg said.
The landlord, who commonly appears on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ annual worst landlords list, allegedly filed false documents with city agencies to conceal his ownership of those buildings.
Ohebshalom faces 40 counts, and shell companies he is tied to face another 40, Crain’s New York Business reports.
Photos of Ohebshalom's properties released along with the indictment show walls and ceilings caving in, debris-covered floors and doors with broken handles. The DA's office said his tenants often weren't provided with necessary heating. The properties were cited dozens of times by city agencies for unsafe conditions.
Ohebshalom allegedly openly discussed his strategy of “engineering vacancies” of rent-regulated apartments with business partners.
“As alleged, Daniel Ohebshalom took advantage of rent-regulated tenants living in five Manhattan apartment buildings by creating dangerous living conditions in an effort to push them out,” Bragg said in a statement.
A fire at 412 W. 46th St. in 2015 left the building uninhabitable. It was then offered for sale along with 410 W. 46th St. for $11.7M. The city ultimately put the buildings under third-party control. The buildings at 331 E. 14th St. and 705 and 709 W. 170th St. were also called out in the announcement of the indictment.
Besides the landlord himself, the entities tied to him that were also served indictments were Keystone Management, Highpoint Associates XII LLC, Liberty Ventures LLC and Belmont Ventures LLC.
Ohebshalom is serving a 60-day sentence on Rikers Island, but lawyers from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development have asked a judge to extend his jail sentence or force him into house arrest — in one of his own buildings.
In October 2022, the DA launched the Housing and Tenant Protection Unit to target tenant harassment and abuse of government programs by landlords and developers. Assistant District Attorney Chikaelo Ibeabuchi leads the office and is handling the prosecution of Ohebshalom.
