Jailed Landlord Steven Croman Pays Another $8M

Jail time and $5 million in fines was not enough for notorious landlord Steven Croman. The owner of more  than 100 apartment buildings in New York City settled a civil lawsuit for another $8 million.

“We’re ensuring tenants get the restitution and protections they deserve – including the largest-ever settlement with an individual landlord, and unprecedented independent management and monitoring at his properties,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The consent decree, announced Dec. 20, 2017, requires Croman to pay $8 million into a fund to pay his tenants back for harassment, coercion and fraud intended to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments so that Croman could convert their homes into highly-profitable, market-rate units.

The settlement also requires over 100 Croman residential properties to be run by a new, independent management company with no ties to Croman, for five years.

The property owner is currently serving a one-year jail sentence, and has already paid a $5 million settlement for separate criminal charges related to his properties. It’s the latest strike in a long fight by city and state official against property owners who harass tenants.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact our New York commercial real estate editor Bendix Anderson