Notorious Landlord Attacked Shortly After Turning Himself In

Infamous landlord Daniel Ohebshalom was attacked shortly after arriving at Rikers Island for a 60-day stay.

The attack happened on Friday afternoon, a day after Ohebshalom turned himself into police, NBC New York reported. Another inmate punched Ohebshalom in the face while in the facility’s intake area.

Ohebshalom’s injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, but he was hospitalized amid concerns he may have broken facial bones. He returned to Rikers later in the day. There’s no indication the landlord was targeted by his assailant.

A warrant was issued for the Los Angeles-based landlord’s arrest this month by New York City’s Civil Court. He missed multiple deadlines and extensions provided by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development to fix nearly 700 violations, according to court records.

Last February, Ohebshalom was held in contempt of court. He was held in contempt again this summer when he failed to remedy hazardous violations, including roaches, mice, other rodents and numerous counts of lead paint. He failed to adhere to a one-month extension provided to him in January, leading to his arrest.

Ohebshalom’s 60-day stay at Rikers can be shortened if the landlord fixes the violations.

Two years ago, Ohebshalom appeared on the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlords Watchlist for his management of 705 and 709 West 170th Street in Washington Heights.

Ohebshalom’s attorney did not return the publication’s request for comment. The landlord isn’t getting much sympathy from his tenants, who have been living with issues including unreliable heat and hot water, and weak exterior apartment doors that were easily breached by drug users.

“Him getting punched is karma,” one of Ohebshalom’s tenants told the New York Post upon learning of the attack. “God forgive me for laughing!”

— Holden Walter-Warner