Binghamton “Slumlord” Isaac Anzaroot Gives Up 26 Properties

A Binghamton landlord agreed to surrender more than two dozen properties to the city in a settlement that bars him from owning and managing properties there.

Brooklyn resident Isaac Anzaroot reached the agreement to resolve the city’s prosecution of him, WIVT reported. As part of the settlement, Anzaroot cannot own or manage properties in Binghamton for 15 years. In exchange, the housing violation prosecutions Anzaroot has been facing will be dropped.

Anzaroot will transfer 26 properties, mostly residential, to the city. Many of the homes are in poor condition.

Properties that are already in receivership or with foreclosures pending for unpaid taxes or mortgages are not part of Anzaroot’s asset forfeiture. At one point, the landlord owned more than 100 properties across the Greater Binghamton area.

The city and the landlord have been at odds for years. Mayor Jared Kraham, who announced the settlement, took aim at Anzaroot during his 2021 run for office. A year later, police arrested Anzaroot on 12 bench warrants and two arrest warrants after he failed to appear in housing court.

Anzaroot fought back through the judicial system. Anzaroot, 40, and his father — a part-owner in at least one property — filed lawsuits against the city, claiming they were victims of a conspiracy to run them out of town. The family dropped their lawsuits as part of the settlement.

The mayor celebrated the news, recalling his campaign pledge to “hold bad actors accountable and send a clear message that we will not tolerate slumlords who put families in danger and ruin the integrity of neighborhoods.”

But the hard part may be ahead for the city, which will need to determine what to do with the 26 run-down properties. It could try to sell, rehabilitate or demolish them.

They aren’t worth much. The appraised value of the properties, minus their outstanding taxes, water bills and other fees, combines to $751,000. That breaks down to less than $29,000 per property.

— Holden Walter-Warner