City needs to step up enforcement of alleged slumlord, says pol
The city’s worst individual landlord owns 13 buildings in Brooklyn, and a City Council member who represents residents of 250 apartments in four of the worst buildings is calling for the city to take more action. Many of those properties, though, are already enrolled in some of the city’s most aggressive enforcement programs.
Councilmember Farah Louis said the city should take a tougher look at properties owned by Jason Korn, whose 15 buildings across the city together carried a monthly average of 2,877 violations from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, according to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ Landlord Watchlist released Monday. Louis wants the agency to put Korn’s properties into its Alternative Enforcement Program, which pressures landlords to take immediate action to remedy hazardous conditions.
However, even as Korn jumped from ninth worst landlord in 2018 to the top of the list in 2019, 11 of his 15 buildings in this year were enrolled in either HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program or its Underlying Conditions Program — two of the agency’s most assertive enforcement tools for correcting a landlord’s bad behavior, the Brooklyn Eagle has learned.
The landlord’s inclusion on the watchlist doesn’t seem to have shamed him into compliance, Louis said in a statement.
“Year after year, we come back to [the Landlord Watchlist] hoping that this public display of outrage might hold them to account. Instead, they seem to be wearing it as a badge of honor,” Louis said in the statement. “Instead of striving to get off of [the Landlord Watchlist], Jason Korn has moved from 9th place in 2018 to 1st place this year. With the privilege of tax exemptions comes the responsibility of properly managing the upkeep of the buildings that thousands of New Yorkers call home.”
Louis specifically called for more enforcement against four of Korn’s properties in her district, which currently have more open violations than Williams’ calculated as their monthly average:
- 250 East 29th St. (477 open violations)
- 1439 Ocean Ave. (258 open violations)
- 712 East 27th St. (237 open violations)
- 3402 Avenue I (289 open violations)
The buildings dot the Flatbush-Midwood border. Korn’s nine other Brooklyn buildings are in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and elsewhere in Central Brooklyn, and he owns two more properties in Manhattan. No one answered multiple phone calls for comment to a number listed for Jason Korn’s properties.
Putting the properties into the HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program would step up inspections of the property and give the landlord four months to make repairs. If an owner fails to act, the city can then step in to make emergency repairs and bill the landlord.
The agency selects properties for the program annually, releasing its list in late January. Properties put in the program also need to notify tenants and post signage that provides instructions for filing complaints against the landlord.
Despite Louis’ call, HPD has no discretion about which properties land in the program, HPD spokesperson Matthew Creegan told the Brooklyn Eagle. As is written into law, 250 buildings are enrolled each year, determined by the number of hazardous and immediately hazardous maintenance violations and the dollar value of emergency repair charges incurred as a result of work performed by HPD.
One of the properties on Louis’ list, 1439 Ocean Ave., was in the Alternative Enforcement Program last year. Two other properties, 1616 President St. in Brooklyn, and 192 Nagle Ave. in Manhattan, were also in the program.
All three were discharged from the program in 2019, meaning all immediately hazardous conditions and 80 percent of other serious violations were remedied, among other criteria. They continue to be monitored.
Despite progress within the program, the Ocean Avenue property currently has 261 open HPD violations for issues ranging from mold, collapsed ceilings, blocked fire escapes and lack of hot water, according to the agency’s website. President Street has 42 violations and Nagle Avenue has 114 violations.
That properties enrolled in the Alternative Enforcement Program still found themselves racking up enough violations to make the worst landlord list was concerning to Councilmember Louis, according to a spokesperson.
“If [the Alternative Enforcement Program is] not effective what we’d like to do is explore in different ways the solutions we can implement through legislation,” said Louis’s spokesperson, Kristia Winter. “It’s a good opportunity to explore whether a hearing on the program could happen to see what lapses exist as tenants are in dire need of support.”
Winter said the councilmember, who is a member of the council’s Housing Committee, would see if there are improvements in Alternative Enforcement Program properties next year. If not, Louis will work with the chair, Councilmember Robert Cornegy, to look more deeply at the program.
“It’s an opportunity to make the quality of life better, and we have an expectation that these programs work and if they’re not working we have to fix that,” Winter said.
Violations can continue to mount at buildings even while they are in the Alternative Enforcement Program, as some of the properties have long-standing and complicated issues that take time to remedy, HPD spokesperson Creegan told the Brooklyn Eagle.
Through the Alternative Enforcement Program, the agency makes emergency repairs to ensure the immediate safety of residents — but it doesn’t renovate a property.
“It’s more like a babysitting program where tenants have a direct connection to HPD,” he said. “It’s a huge enforcement tool for owners and it’s very expensive for owners to be in this program — paying repairs, fees, and such — it’s in the owner’s best interest to get out of the program and we put them on track to be out.”
Looking at the current number of violations doesn’t create a clear picture of the program’s efficacy, he said, since it doesn’t take into account the severity of the violation or the percentage remedied.
“The Alternative Enforcement Program puts owners under the microscope when they neglect their buildings and endanger their tenants. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have to help get the most distressed buildings in the city back on the right track,” Creegan said.
He added that eight more of Korn’s buildings — all in Brooklyn — were selected in September 2019 for HPD’s Underlying Conditions Program, which targets buildings with a high number of units suffering mold or leak violations. Only about 50 buildings are put in the program each year, and landlords who fail to make corrections can be put into Alternative Enforcement.
All together, that means 11 of Korn’s 15 buildings are in two of HPD’s programs that target the severest of conditions.
Korn’s property with the most HPD violations, 250 East 29th St., was the last stop on Public Advocate Williams’ press tour on Monday that coincided with the release of the 2019 Landlord Watchlist. That building was enrolled in the Underlying Conditions Program in September.
Resident Megan Adams, 65, said she’s been living under horrendous conditions for about 16 years. In January her bathroom ceiling collapsed from water damage and the heat is frequently shut off, she said.
“When you call they office they say, ‘Oh, we’re going to try to do our best,’ like we are begging them,” she said. “It’s like we are nobody in here.”
A full list of Korn’s properties, and all properties owned by the 10 worst landlords on the public advocate’s list, search the table below.
Landlord | Address | Zip Code | Corporation | Units | HPD Violations | DOB Violations | Evictions | Borough |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason Korn | 250 East 29 Street | 11226 | 250-251 E. 29 Realty LLC | 81 | 337 | 5 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 55 Winthrop Street | 11225 | 55 Winthrop Street LLC | 76 | 334 | 8 | 2 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 200 Nagle Avenue | 10034 | One Nine Deuce Associates LLC | 49 | 281 | 2 | 0 | Manhattan |
Jason Korn | 1311 Avenue K | 11230 | 1311 Avenue K Realty LLC | 38 | 253 | 3 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 1439 Ocean Avenue | 11230 | 1439 Realty LLC | 72 | 206 | 8 | 1 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 712 East 27th Street | 11210 | 712 Realty LLC | 59 | 183 | 4 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 1435 Carroll Street | 11213 | 1429 Carroll Street LLC | 27 | 179 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 776 Crown Street | 11213 | 776 Crown St Realty LLC | 46 | 165 | 2 | 4 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 192 Nagle Avenue | 10034 | One Nine Deuce Associates LLC | 49 | 163 | 2 | 0 | Manhattan |
Jason Korn | 1690 President Street | 11213 | 1690 President Street | 39 | 157 | 2 | 1 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 3402 Avenue I | 11210 | 3402 Realty LLC | 38 | 149 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 100 Linden Boulevard | 11226 | 100 Linden Realty LLC | 41 | 145 | 3 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 271 Parkside Avenue | 11226 | 271 Parkside Ave Realty LLC | 24 | 126 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 1616 President Street | 11213 | 1616 President St LLC | 25 | 101 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Jason Korn | 209 East 16 Street | 11226 | 209 Realty LLC | 39 | 98 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 378 Throop Avenue | 11221 | Throop Court LP | 53 | 278 | 13 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 150 Tompkins Avenue | 11206 | Willoughby Tompkins LP | 20 | 134 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 399 Kosciuszko Street | 11221 | Northeast Brooklyn Partnership | 12 | 110 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 749 Lafayette Avenue | 11221 | NEB LP | 8 | 106 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 98 Pulaski Street | 11206 | NEB LP | 6 | 93 | 7 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 706 Mac Donough Street | 11233 | Broadway Putnam LP | 4 | 90 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 403 Kosciuszko Street | 11221 | Northeast Brooklyn Partnership | 13 | 79 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 611 Willoughby Avenue | 11206 | Willoughby Tompkins LP | 9 | 78 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 607 Willoughy Avenue | 11206 | Willoughby Tompkins LP | 9 | 70 | 0 | 1 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 540 Kosciuszko Street | 11221 | Hunterfly LP | 6 | 70 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 22 Stuyvesant Avenue | 11221 | Hunterfly LP | 8 | 63 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 523 Blake Avenue | 11207 | HT Jericho LP | 16 | 56 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 315 Pulaski Street | 11206 | Hunterfly LP | 8 | 50 | 0 | 2 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 430 New Jersey Avenue | 11207 | HT Jericho LP | 3 | 45 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 375 Kosciuszko Street | 11221 | Hunterfly LP | 4 | 34 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 456 Bradford Street | 11207 | HT Jericho LP | 3 | 34 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 675 Halsey Street | 11233 | Northeast Brooklyn Partnership | 6 | 30 | 0 | 1 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 1001 Putnam Avenue | 11221 | Broadway Putnam LP | 6 | 21 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 369 Sheffield Avenue | 11207 | HT Jericho LP | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 428 New Jersey Avenue | 11207 | HT Jericho LP | 3 | 20 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathaniel Montgomery | 1438 Broadway | 11221 | Broadway Putnam LP | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Eric Silverstein | 261 Lenox Road | 11226 | Trio Realty Associates LLC | 120 | 360 | 9 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Eric Silverstein | 250 Parkville Avenue | 11230 | 250 Parkville Co. | 63 | 281 | 3 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Eric Silverstein | 2005 Albemarle Road | 11226 | 625 Ocean Company | 54 | 268 | 9 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Eric Silverstein | 39-50 59 Street | 11377 | Woodside Silver Associates LLC | 78 | 235 | 3 | 0 | Queens |
Abdul Khan | 1515 Selwyn Avenue | 10457 | MK Realty Group LLC | 47 | 348 | 59 | 2 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 1242 Morris Avenue | 10456 | 1242 Superior Apartments LLC | 12 | 127 | 9 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 374 East 209 Street | 10467 | 374 Superior Apartments LLC | 27 | 124 | 0 | 1 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 2250 Grand Concourse | 10457 | 2250 Superior Apartments | 22 | 122 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 1201 Dr. Martin L. King Jr Boulevard | 10452 | 1201 MK Realty Group LLC | 38 | 107 | 8 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 3102 Villa Avenue | 10468 | Superior Apartments LLC | 23 | 93 | 14 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 711 East 183 Street | 10458 | 711 MK Realty Group LLC | 8 | 88 | 2 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 685 East 234 Street | 10466 | 685 MK Realty Group | 6 | 77 | 10 | 0 | Bronx |
Abdul Khan | 683 East 234 Street | 10466 | 683 E 234 St Holdings LLC | 6 | 49 | 2 | 0 | Bronx |
Chris DeAngelis | 476 Columbus Avenue | 10024 | 476 Columbus Avenue LLC | 12 | 162 | 3 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 324 West 43 Street | 10036 | Triarch Management | 20 | 103 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 964 Amsterdam Avenue | 10025 | 964 MV I LLC | 23 | 100 | 7 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 1471 St Nicholas Avenue | 10033 | 602 West 184th Street LLC | 19 | 96 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 353 West 51 Street | 10019 | 353 West 51st Street LLC | 17 | 80 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 472 Columbus Avenue | 10024 | 472 Columbus Avenue LLC | 12 | 68 | 1 | 1 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 10 Westminster Road | 11218 | 10 Westminster Road, LLC | 21 | 67 | 2 | 2 | Brooklyn |
Chris DeAngelis | 734 Amsterdam Avenue | 10025 | 200 West 96th Street | 8 | 61 | 3 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 1245 Halsey Street | 11237 | 1245 Halsey Street | 8 | 60 | 2 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Chris DeAngelis | 748 9 Avenue | 10019 | 748 9th Avenue LLC | 13 | 57 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Chris DeAngelis | 1851 Putnam Avenue | 11385 | 791 Onkerdonk Avenue LLC | 7 | 50 | 0 | 0 | Queens |
Chris DeAngelis | 1726 Woodbine Street | 11385 | 1726 Woodbine Portfolio LLC | 6 | 39 | 0 | 0 | Queens |
Chris DeAngelis | 1889 Cornelia Street | 11385 | 18-89 Cornelia Street LLC | 6 | 35 | 0 | 0 | Queens |
RIchard Nussbaum | 495 West 186th Street | 10033 | Nussbaum Associates Company LLC | 60 | 442 | 10 | 0 | Manhattan |
RIchard Nussbaum | 99 Marble Hill Avenue | 10463 | Nussbaum Realty Company LLC | 56 | 441 | 13 | 1 | Manhattan |
Joseph Soleimani | 524 West 173rd Street | 10032 | 173 Heights LLC | 15 | 134 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Joseph Soleimani | 169 East 105th Street | 10029 | ABJ 105 LLC | 11 | 105 | 6 | 0 | Manhattan |
Joseph Soleimani | 2605 Marion Avenue | 10458 | SCG 2605 LLC | 25 | 89 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 506 West 173rd Street | 10032 | 173 Heights LLC | 20 | 81 | 0 | 0 | Manhattan |
Joseph Soleimani | 526 West 173rd Street | 10032 | 173 Heights LLC | 15 | 79 | 5 | 0 | Manhattan |
Joseph Soleimani | 90 East 18th Street | 11226 | Brooklyn Park Terrace LLC | 19 | 71 | 3 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Joseph Soleimani | 2601 Marion Avenue | 10458 | SCG 311 LLC | 11 | 67 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 340 East 139th Street | 10454 | ABJ 340 LLC | 10 | 51 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 301 East 193rd Street | 10458 | SCG 301 LLC | 11 | 44 | 1 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 2322 Bedford Avenue | 11226 | Brooklyn Park Terrace LLC | 6 | 42 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Joseph Soleimani | 1224 Franklin Avenue | 10456 | Claremont Homes LLC | 13 | 40 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 612 East 168th Street | 10456 | Claremont Homes LLC | 9 | 35 | 0 | 0 | Bronx |
Joseph Soleimani | 369 East 21st Street | 11226 | Brooklyn Park Terrace LLC | 5 | 21 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Nathan Silverstein | 90 Pinehurst Avenue | 10033 | 90 Pinehurst LLC | 49 | 259 | 4 | 0 | Manhattan |
Nathan Silverstein | 9 Cabrini Boulevard | 10033 | Cabrini Blockfront LLC | 35 | 240 | 3 | 0 | Manhattan |
Nathan Silverstein | 5 Cabrini Boulevard | 10033 | Cabrini Blockfront LLC | 34 | 188 | 2 | 0 | Manhattan |
Nathan Silverstein | 1 Cabrinie Boulevard | 10033 | Cabrini Block Front LLC | 34 | 150 | 2 | 0 | Manhattan |
William Lucas | 1593 Fulton Street | 11213 | Risley Dent Towers Association | 248 | 819 | 16 | 0 | Brooklyn |
William Lucas | 529A Gates Avenue | 11216 | Gates Cluster Development, LP | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | Brooklyn |
Michael Lazaroff | 100 Belmont Place | 10301 | [Not Listed] | 56 | 458 | 14 | 2 | Staten Island |
Michael Lazaroff | 101 Daniel Low Terrace | 10301 | [Not Listed] | 56 | 341 | 7 | 0 | Staten Island |