Public funding to rehabilitate Park Hill Apartments expected next month, owner says

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The owner of the Park Hill Apartments, which has accumulated more than 1,200 violations in 2025 alone for varying inadequate living conditions, claims he will be issued government funding next month to rehabilitate the federally-subsidized housing development.

The owner of the eight-building apartment complex, Michael Shah, who is the founder and CEO of DelShah Capital, recently told the Advance/SILive.com that the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development and New York State Housing Finance Agency are expected to issue public funding to rehabilitate Park Hill in mid-December.

However, Shah could not provide any additional details, such as a specific dollar amount or expected timeline for the rehabilitation project. All he would say is that more information will likely be available next month when the funding is formally announced.

In July, Shah told the Advance/SILive.com that he had worked in recent months to bring “the top tier affordable housing developers” into the development to help secure government funding. He declined to name the developer at the time, citing confidentiality concerns.

And he’s not the only one who is tight-lipped about the potential renovations. Neither government agency could confirm that funding would be issued next month, but a Department of Housing Preservation and Development representative previously told the Advance/SILive.com in July that the agency was working with the state to facilitate the rehabilitation project.

The rehabilitation of the 1,100-unit development is much-needed, with residents having long complained about substandard living conditions in the buildings.

As of late November, the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development has issued more than 1,200 violations across the complex in 2025 for varying conditions. The most consistent violations are for things like pest problems; faulty or missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; broken windows and doors; and mold or unsanitary water conditions.

In a June tour of one of the Park Hill buildings, longtime resident Olga Navarro told the Advance/SILive.com that she’s never seen the building in worse condition than it is now during her 30 years living there.

Navarro, who lives at 280 Park Hill Ave., alleged that ownership’s unwillingness to address longstanding issues had led to an almost untenable situation.

Specifically, the longtime tenant pointed to unsanitary conditions throughout her building’s common areas, leaky pipes and a long, filled-in strip between 280 and 260 Park Hill Ave., an apparent leftover from prior gas line work.

Additionally, Navarro said accessibility has been a growing problem as many long-time tenants age at the development with handicap ramps only in the back of their buildings and elevators that go in and out of service.

Other issues noticed during a tour of the complex in early June included broken mail boxes in the lobby of 280 Park Hill Ave., non-functioning security systems, and peeling ceiling paint.

The ongoing failure to fully address the longstanding concerns of Park Hill residents has placed ownership in the crosshairs of Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, a Democrat representing the North Shore, who has made various attempts to pressure Shah into making necessary repairs and rehabilitation efforts.

During a May 2024 City Council hearing, Hanks went as far as calling for the city to withhold some of its funding for Park Hill, and compared Shah to a notorious Manhattan landlord who authorities arrested in March 2024 in part because of poor conditions at some of his buildings.

That landlord, Daniel Ohebshalom, had close to 700 violations across two Washington Heights buildings that went uncorrected for years.

Cases like Ohebshalom’s are extremely rare, but at the May 2024 hearing, Hanks asked leaders from the the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, including Commissioner Adolfo Carríon, what can be done to hold the owner of Park Hill accountable.

“With hundreds of open violations, these people are living in horrible conditions, but we keep paying. We keep subsidizing these bad actors,” she said. “I have to use my time, my position to really explain and illuminate to all of you the importance of not waiting…but to take action and to hold these landlords accountable.”

Housing Preservation and Development Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement and Neighborhood Services Annmarie Santiago told Hanks at the hearing that three of the development’s buildings had been targeted for special enforcement actions since January 2024, and that the department conducts weekly visits to Park Hill.

Hanks’ spokesperson said at that time she is waiting to see whether new enforcement actions correct the issues at Park Hill, but that she is open to further steps.

“The councilmember’s priority is ensuring that Park Hill tenants finally receive the quality housing they deserve,” the spokesperson wrote. “If DelShah is unwilling or unable to make the necessary investments and meet basic housing standards, then it is past time to force changes in ownership, or bring criminal charges. The residents of Park Hill have waited long enough.”