Community Corner
Worst Landlords in Prospect Heights Named in Annual List
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's Worst Landlords 2011 Watch List has been released
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s 2011 Worst Landlord Watch List was released to the public yesterday. In Prospect Heights—a neighborhood as defined by its 19th-century brownstones as its newly developed luxury condominiums—three offenders made the list, which contained a total of 157 names.
For a landlord to be added to the list, they must own a building with fewer than 35 units but an average of at least three open, serious violations (i.e. rodents, lack of electricity) per unit. Larger buildings must have an average of at least two open, serious violations per unit.
The worst offenders according to de Blasio's rubrics were:
Find out what's happening in Prospect Heights-Crown Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Geoffrey Stephen, Head Officer of 181 Park Place, between Carlton and Vanderbilt Avenue. A 4-story brownstone built in 1931, the property contains three units and has 96 infractions.
- Union Street Bricks INC's Edward Rappaport, Head Officer of 816 Franklin Avenue, at the corner of Eastern Parkway. According to public records, the building was built in 1923. It currently houses 34 units with no less than 384 infractions.
- Deborah Lewis, Head Officer of 995 Bergen Street between Franklin and Bedford Avenue, with three units and 45 infractions. It also has a beauty supplies store called Finest Beauty Supplies located on the ground floor.
De Blasio says he launched the list in an effort to pressure landlords to improve their buildings and living quarters for tenants. To submit a housing complaint with the City's Citizen Service Center, call 311.
