March/April 2012

New York has long had a bumper crop of notorious landlords. But it’s hard to peg Frank Palazzolo, a wealthy Westchester real estate operator, as a member of the worst-landlord club.

That’s because, even though the scores of buildings he was associated with teemed with violations and creaked in disrepair (in 2002 one of them was the scene of a fatal electrical fire), actual legal ownership of most of the properties was usually in the hands of others.

This story is not only about one landlord’s record. It’s also about why banks lent vast fortunes to real estate managers with troubled records—and why, despite the many laws and rules aimed at protecting vulnerable tenants, it’s still possible for buildings filled with needy families to lapse into disrepair while owners make huge profits.