NYC’s ‘worst landlord’ indicted for tenant harassment weeks after being jailed over building violations

The Big Apple’s so-called “worst landlord” Daniel Ohebshalom has been indicted for allegedly harassing rent-regulated tenants with “unlivable” conditions to drive them out of units so he could sell the buildings to make a buck, prosecutors said.

The latest legal trouble for Ohebshalom came barely a month after he was locked up over hundreds of violations at just two of his Manhattan properties.

He was charged Wednesday by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over a pattern of alleged tenant abuse dating back years — which consisted of forgoing maintenance until units fell apart, withholding heat and hot water during the winter and failing to install basic locks on front doors.

Ohebshalom’s goal was to create and use such “horrific living conditions” to compel longtime tenants to move out and then renovate their vacated apartments into multi-bedroom units so he could sell his buildings at a higher price, according to the DA’s office.

The scheme — dubbed “engineering vacancies” — was allegedly openly discussed by the landlord and his business partners, while he forged documentation certifying the completion of building maintenance he’d never done.

In other instances, Ohebshalom even put the names of associates’ employees instead of his own on building documents to hide his ownership and evade addressing building issues, the DA alleged.

“This defendant created unlivable and dangerous conditions for the tenants in his rent-regulated apartments, a pattern of neglect that was intended to push them out,” said Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber.

Ohebshalom, a member of a large family of city landlords, was jailed on Rikers Island back in March over nearly 700 unaddressed violations at a pair of his Manhattan apartment buildings.

He was promptly punched in the face within hours of being booked.

“God forgive me for laughing,” said 37-year-old Nelly, a tenant of one of his buildings in upper Manhattan, upon hearing the news.

Another tenant who doesn’t speak English smiled and gave the thumbs up when the word was translated.

They are just two of numerous tenants in Ohebshalom’s buildings who described plagues of roaches infesting their homes, rats chewing through walls, black mold, lead paint, blinking electricity and unaddressed leaks leading to holes in ceilings and walls.

In at least one incident, the DA alleged in their indictment, a damaged ceiling even collapsed on top of a young child.

“New Yorkers deserve to live in their apartments without fearing for their safety,” Bragg said. “Landlords have the responsibility to ensure tenants’ safety.”

Ohebshalom is charged with eight counts of Harassment of a Rent Regulated Tenant in the First Degree, 29 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, and three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

The allegations stemmed from five of the landlord’s buildings across Manhattan, while four companies associated with his dealings were also charged in the indictment.