New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams released the “Worst Landlord Watchlist” for the year 2025 on Wednesday (January 21), revealing that the top two landlords this year have broken the record for the highest number of violations in the history of the list, sparking community concern.
Topping the list of worst landlords this year is Margaret Brunn, the president of A&E Real Estate Holdings, whose 24 residential buildings accumulated a record-breaking 4,872 unresolved violations documented by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) from November 2024 to October 2025.
Following closely in second place is Donald Hastings, the asset manager of the same company, responsible for 36 buildings with a total of 3,899 violations. Together, the two individuals have over 8,700 violations across 60 buildings, including issues such as infestations of rats and cockroaches, damaged doors and windows, and unsafe fire exits, highlighting severe living conditions problems.
Interestingly, this marks the first time in the history of the list that the top two landlords are from the same company. Public Advocate Williams criticized this practice, citing that corporate landlords utilize limited liability companies (LLCs) and nominal responsible individuals to evade accountability under government supervision.
In response to the hazardous conditions and tenant harassment issues in the 14 buildings owned by the A&E group, the city government reached a civil settlement agreement with the company this month, totaling approximately $2.1 million.
The agreement mandates A&E to pay fines and rectify over 4,000 violations. The court also issued a restraining order against harassing tenants in these 14 buildings. The city government stated that enforcement will be strengthened through the Anti-Harassment Unit of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Apart from A&E’s Brunn and Hastings, other landlords with high violation records include Barry Singer with 2,885 violations; Joseph Cafiero with 2,871 violations; and Peter Fine with 2,206 violations.
The Public Advocate emphasized that this list serves not only as a ranking statistic but also aims to enhance landlords’ sense of responsibility for residential safety in New York City. It encourages more affected tenants to come forward with their situations and participate in upcoming events such as the “Tenant Exploitation Public Hearing.”