Former Slumlord Buildings in Hell’s Kitchen Targeted for Acquisition by Nonprofit

A nonprofit organization is eyeing two adjoining Hell’s Kitchen apartment buildings, previously owned by a notorious slumlord, for acquisition through a revitalized city program. The goal is to provide affordable housing, but funding and bureaucracy could delay the process.

Community housing group This Land Is Ours says it is considering purchasing 438-440 W45th Street (bw 9/10th Ave) using a city program that recently received funding from the City Council.

The two buildings were previously owned by Daniel Ohebshalom, who has topped the list of worst landlords in NYC and is currently facing jail time at Rikers Island .

The current property owner, Maguire Capital, who foreclosed on Ohebshalom’s property , is trying to sell the buildings for $5.25 million, according to a real estate listing with the firm Cushman and Wakefield. The buildings include 22 rent-stabilized units and eight market-rate units. “With nine vacant apartments, new ownership has a wide array of potential opportunities,” the listing states.

This Land Is Ours could purchase the buildings using the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development’s (HPD) Neighborhood Pillars program , designed to allow “nonprofits and mission driven organizations to acquire and rehabilitate unregulated or rent-stabilized housing,” by providing them with low-interest loans and tax exemptions.

The program was recently replenished with $15 million in funding in the City Council’s FY25 budget passed last month — a far cry from the $250 million Council Members had initially proposed .

Valerio Orselli, This Land Is Ours project director, told Gothamist his group has toured the buildings and is discussing a plan to purchase them. It will probably take a year to put together the necessary funding, he said.

It may be a while, in fact, before many other nonprofit organizations successfully take over buildings in Hell’s Kitchen or elsewhere in the city. The Neighborhood Pillars website states that due to “limited staff capacity and a significant backlog of projects,” it may take “up to one year” for applicants to be assigned a project manager.

Across 9th Avenue at 351-357 W45th Street, another set of pre-war tenement buildings, previously owned by infamous landlord Steve Croman, were officially acquired by nonprofit Services for the UnderServed (S:US) last month.

The acquisition, first announced in April , will allow 69 of the building’s 80 units to become affordable housing for homeless families with CityFHEPS rental vouchers. Longtime tenants will be allowed to continue living in the 11 remaining rent-stabilized units. The sale was made possible through a $27 million loan from HPD.

Arlo Chase, senior vice president of real estate at S:US said in a statement that he was “thrilled to finalize this acquisition,” adding that “as an organization we are deeply committed to being a good neighbor to the residents of Hell’s Kitchen.”

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