13 slumlords removed from city’s watch list

City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio will announce the removal today of 13 of the city’s worst landlords from the slumlord watch list, thanks to improvements which cleared 22 buildings from the list, according to the Daily News. These will be the first landlords to “graduate” from the online registry, which launched in August. David Bistricer’s 59-building Flatbush Gardens complex is on the list. “These are buildings that were falling apart, with holes in the ceilings and floors, with unsafe fixtures and dangerous molds,” de Blasio said. “But now real, solid improvements have been made.” Although dozens of landlords remain on the list, de Blasio is confident that progress is being made and that more slumlords would also make the improvements if they faced stiffer fines. “We’re pushing for tougher penalties,” de Blasio said, adding that he would need to contend with a proposed 20 percent cut to his budget. “We’re going to have to struggle to get some of that money back to so we can keep helping our constituents,” he said. [NYDN]