NYC 'Worst Landlord' Faces Major Lawsuit By City

NEW YORK CITY — Swarms of rats. Lead paint flaking everywhere. No hot water. Rampant fire hazards. Tenants harassed.

These are among 1,900 violations Moshe Piller — a fixture on the city's official "worst landlord" list — let fester in 15 New York buildings, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the city Thursday.

"The Defendants have allowed their buildings to deteriorate to the point where they pose an imminent threat to the health and safety of the tenants and the public," the lawsuit states.

"These buildings and conditions therein constitute public nuisances and violate City laws enacted to protect tenants and safeguard buildings."

Patch was unable to reach Piller for comment.

The sprawling 58-page complaint details conditions in 15 buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx with more than 900 rent-regulated units, according to documents.

Manhattan

• 10-22 Fairview Ave.
• 554-558 W. 191st St.
• 1-9 Jacobus Place
• 10-18 Jacobus Place
• 1-3 Pinehurst Ave., also known as 809 W. 177th Street

Brooklyn

• 121-137 E. 18th St.
• 730-760 Rogers Ave.
• 40 E. 17th St.

The Bronx

• 1742-1758 E. 172nd St.
• 1775 Davidson Ave.
• 2501 Davidson Ave.
• 4563-4575 Park Ave.
• 1025 Boynton Ave.
• 2874 Grand Concourse

Altagrace Aime, tenant leader with the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, said conditions in Piller's buildings are dangerous, and have been for years.

"He’s endangered peoples’ lives right here in Brooklyn and in the Bronx,” said Aime. “He’s been overcharging us, he’s been harassing us, and now he’s trying to use the pandemic to collect even more money, while we live in decrepit and dangerous conditions. Enough is enough from Moshe Piller.”

This isn't the first time conditions in Piller's buildings have made headlines.

Among the most notorious was the Bronx building where, in 2016, a faulty radiator that filled two girls' room with steam and scalded them to death.

The horrific case prompted tenants to file suit against Piller, DNAinfo reported at the time.

"I’m a mother and it breaks my heart. But it also makes me angry because I know Piller," Esther Estime told DNAinfo at the time. "Piller doesn’t care what happens to his tenants, and neither does the city."

It is this notion that Mayor Eric Adams hopes to challenge, he said in a press release issued shortly after the suit was filed.

“The time of landlords openly flouting the law and harassing tenants is over," Adams said. "This lawsuit sends a clear message that those who break the law will pay."