Nonprofit Landlord Spends a Night on Rikers Island

Nonprofit landlords are subject to the same rules and orders as those from the private sector, which one executive learned the hard way last week.

Malcolm Punter, who leads Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, was briefly jailed after a judge ruled his organization failed to complete court-ordered repairs at 306 West 114th Street, Gothamist reported. The judge held Punter in contempt last week over issues at the 22-unit building.

The long road to his night at Rikers Island began at the start of last year, when a tenant filed a lawsuit demanding repairs. The tenant alleged issues such as a rodent infestation, mold and sewage leaking through her sink and toilet. Inspectors ultimately issued 43 violations within that one unit.

In August, a judge issued a contempt order due to the lack of repairs and started issuing $250 daily fines. Six months after that, however, the problems remained unresolved, leading to an arrest warrant for Punter. He was given an extra month to fix the most damning problems, but failed to comply.

The arrest was delayed once again as the landlord’s legal team argued about access to the unit, whether or not the repairs were actually done and the serving of court papers related to the contempt order. None could prevent Punter from going to jail on Apr. 14; he was released the next day.

Punter, who has been at the nonprofit since 2008 and has led it for more than half that time, did not respond to requests for comment from the publication. His lawyer claimed the judge erred in jailing Punter, submitting photos of work taking place before the arrest.

The nonprofit has controlled the building since 1999. The city’s housing agency sued in a separate case in February because of heat and hot water problems.

While there have been several high-profile cases of private sector landlords being arrested in recent years, the arrest of a city-subsidized nonprofit’s leader is largely unprecedented.

Aron Stark spent eight days in Rikers Island in 2023 after failing to respond to the court about repairs ordered to 1422 Greene Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Notorious New York City landlord Daniel Ohebshalom spent multiple stints in the slammer in recent years.

— Holden Walter-Warner