Public advocate releases annual ‘Worst Landlord Watchlist’

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks in front of the Brooklyn War Memorial at Cadman Plaza Park. Photo: Gregory D’Agostino, Brooklyn Eagle

CITYWIDE – CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE Jumaane Williams on Wednesday released his annual “Worst Landlord Watchlist,” spotlighting the landlords in the city with the most widespread and repeated violations in their buildings.

This year’s number one and two, Margaret Brunn and Donald Hastings, are both associated with the same company, A&E Real Estate Holdings, and account for 60 buildings with an average of nearly 9,000 open violations during the list’s assessment period.

“This is the first known instance of the top two landlords representing the same entity, and is a demonstration of both the breadth of violations at their properties and the means with which corporate entities seek to avoid accountability with different LLCs and head officers in city records,” Williams’ office said in a press release.

Williams said volunteers plan to canvas A&E-associated properties this week to urge tenants to organize, seek repairs and attend the upcoming “Rental Rip-Off” tenant complaint hearings hosted by the Mamdani administration.

The public advocate attended a Wednesday rally in Flatbush outside 80 Woodruff Ave., a building owned by Brunn with 313 open violations, and then joined organizers to help knock on doors.

Violations, as compiled and categorized by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, can include issues such as heat and hot water outages, rodent infestations and collapsing infrastructure. Landlords are ranked based on the average number of housing code violations open per month, using data from December 2024 to November 2025.

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