Arrest Warrant Issued For Notorious Manhattan Apartment Landlord

A New York City landlord is looking at the possibility of spending weeks behind bars on Rikers Island after chalking up almost 700 violations in a pair of residential buildings.

A housing court judge issued an arrest warrant for Daniel Ohebshalom, whose name reached the top of the Public Advocate’s list of the city's worst landlords last year, Gothamist first reported.

Ohebshalom failed to make court-ordered repairs at two properties in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, a city agency said in requesting the warrant. The mandated repairs span roughly 42 apartments and common areas in the buildings, which are located at 705 and 709 W. 170th St.

Violations included lead paint, rodent and roach infestations and mold, per the court order. One tenant also described persistent heat outages and ceilings falling apart in an interview with Gothamist.

Judge Jack Stoller, who supervises citywide housing court, issued the warrant for Ohebshalom’s arrest on Friday afternoon, calling living conditions in the apartments “deplorable.”

“The ongoing conditions that the tenants of the subject premises have had to endure, have remained uncorrected since November of 2022, at least sixteen months before this writing, and often longer,” the judge wrote in his order.

The landlord was held in contempt in February last year for failing to make fixes, and again in the summer when problems persisted, The Real Deal reported. One more contempt order was issued in January, giving Ohebshalom 30 days to repair the issues, with the warrant for his arrest following his failure to do so.

Ohebshalom is believed to live in California, with Stoller ordering the New York City Sheriff’s Office to collaborate with officials in the Golden State to locate and arrest Ohebshalom.

The landlord faces a 60-day sentence on Rikers Island, although Ohebshalom could be released before the end of his sentence if he makes the repairs prior to that date.

Tenants at the two properties have been suing Ohebshalom for several years. The case that resulted in his arrest warrant, brought by the New York City Department for Housing Preservation and Development, began in September 2021. 

Although rare for landlords to get jail time over tenant conditions, the order has precedent. A Bushwick landlord spent eight days at Rikers last year after failing to make repairs, TRD previously reported.

Ohebshalom, who also goes by Shalom, was named the worst landlord in the five boroughs in December on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ annual list. His housing portfolio reportedly spans more than 3,000 housing violations.

The landlord was also hit by $4.2M in fines in October last year when HPD found that he was running an illegal hotel from rent-stabilized apartments in Hell’s Kitchen.