2025 list of "Worst Landlords in NYC" revealed by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams has once again released an annual list of "100 Worst Landlords in NYC," also known as the Worst Landlord Watchlist.
It's a dubious distinction, at best, for those named.
"Each hazardous violation on the Worst Landlord Watchlist, each building in disrepair, each landlord putting profit over people, represents New Yorkers suffering in their homes," Williams said.
"More violations than anyone in the list's history"
At the top of the list is Margaret Brunn, according to Williams, followed by Donald Hastings.
"Our top two worst landlords have more violations than anyone in the list's history," Williams said.
Williams said they are both associated with the same company, A&E Real Estate Holdings, and represent 60 buildings with a combined total of more than 8,700 open HPD violations.
It's the first time the top two on the list have represented the same entity, according to Williams, "and is a demonstration of both the breadth of violations at their properties and the means with which corporate entities seek to avoid accountability with different LLCs and head officers in city records."
Williams said New York City settled a lawsuit with A&E Real Estate just last week, mandating some repairs.
Here are the top five from the list:
- Margaret Brunn, 24 buildings with 4,872 open Housing and Preservation Department violations
- Donald Hastings, 36 buildings with 3,889 open HPD violations
- Barry Singer, 14 buildings with 2,885 open HPD violations
- Joseph Cafiero, 19 buildings with 2,871 open HPD violations
- Peter Fine, 7 buildings with 2,101 open HPD violations
"They came to fix the bathroom and up to today they never came back. The worst slumlord in the world. I've been complaining for years for this apartment," tenant Merlyn Williams said of the conditions at 80 Woodruff Ave. in Flatbush, which is owned by A&E Real Estate Holdings.
"We can overhaul not only buildings, but the entire system"
While Jumaane Williams has published the list for several years, he seemed to be encouraged by his alignment on the topic with the new administration under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and in particular, Mamdani's promised "Rental Rip-Off" hearings.
"With an administration committed to housing justice, tenant support, and using all of the tools available to deliver, I'm invigorated by the change we can create," Williams said. "With the resources of the city and the energy of tenants fed up with dangerous conditions and rising rents, we can overhaul not only buildings, but the entire system that has created this housing crisis."
Williams didn't exclude city-run buildings from his recap of problematic landlords. He said the New York City Housing Authority, or NYCHA, had around 612,000 open work orders as of November of last year, saying that's just about the same figure as the year before.
"Perpetual mismanagement of NYCHA has made the city itself the worst overall landlord for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers," according to Williams.
Landlords respond
CBS News New York has reached out to the top 10 landlords in the list for comment.
"Since acquisition, we have invested over $800 million across our portfolio to improve the quality of our housing, meaning that every single one of our buildings is in better shape today than it was when we assumed management. That significant investment makes a real difference for our residents, and has resulted in replaced boilers, modernized elevators, fortified security, and the clearance of 35,000 violations," A&E Real Estate said in a statement. "To label over $800 million in repairs as 'neglect' is misleading and unrealistic, even as we recognize there is much more work to be done. It has been our mission to work with the City to improve every building we manage and address long-standing issues at properties that have been neglected for too long. That will not change."
The person listed as the fourth worst landlord on the list, Joseph Cafiero, says he is not a landlord and is a contractor whose team is hired by banks to make repairs to properties in foreclosure.
"It's the buildings that we take over in foreclosure, they usually have a very high violation count. The owners have neglected the property for a number of years and now the lender is taking possession so we represent the lender and the lenders are also very concerned about the safety of the people in the buildings and they provide the capital for us to make repairs, remove violations, make them safe and make it all habitable," said Cafiero, President of CREMAC Asset Management. "So we're on the opposite end. We're not on a bad landlord list, we're coming in and repairing the work that the bad landlords just didn't make."
