City’s “worst landlord” Daniel Ohebshalom turns himself in

Notorious landlord Daniel Ohebshalom is headed to an extended stay at Rikers Island.

The Los Angeles-based landlord turned himself in to the authorities on Thursday, NY1 reported. A warrant for Ohebshalom’s arrest was issued more than a week ago by New York City’s Civil Court.

In 2022, Ohebshalom made an appearance on the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlords Watchlist for his management of a pair of properties in Washington Heights, 705 and 709 West 170th Street.

Ohebshalom missed multiple deadlines and extensions offered by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to fix nearly 700 violations, according to court records. Tenants at his properties have complained of unreliable heat and hot water, and weak exterior apartment doors that were easily breached by drug users.

In February 2023, Ohebshalom was held in contempt of court. Last summer, it happened again after he failed to remedy hazardous violations such as roaches, mice, other rodents and numerous counts of lead paint.

In January, Ohebshalom was given one more month to fix the violations, but failed to do so, leading to the arrest warrant. Ohebshalom faces up to 60 days in Rikers Island, though that sentence could be reduced if the landlord finds a way to fix violations while sitting in his cell.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams celebrated Ohebshalom’s arrest in a statement, saying “accountability is the best route to improving landlord practices and the conditions at their buildings.”

Ohebshalom’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment from NY1.

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It’s not common for a neglectful landlord to do jail time, but it’s also not unheard of in cases where the court can’t compel a building’s manager to address issues. Last year, Aron Stark spent eight days at Rikers after failing to make court-ordered repairs at his Bushwick rental building.

Stark earned an early release after setting aside more than $200,000 for unpaid fines and booking contractors to make repairs.

— Holden Walter-Warner