Here’s what Croman tenants should know to apply for restitution: pic.twitter.com/Ic3rjMmoQN
— NY AG Underwood (@NewYorkStateAG) August 7, 2018
New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood yesterday announced that tenants who live or formerly lived in buildings owned by Steve Croman may now apply for restitution, as part of the $8 million settlement deal reached last December.
Here's part of the release from the AG's office:
The settlement arose out of an investigation and lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office against Croman for engaging in illegal conduct — including harassment, coercion, and fraud — in order to force rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments and convert their apartments into highly profitable market-rate units.
“This office has zero tolerance for predatory landlords who seek to line their pockets at the expense of their tenants’ wellbeing,” said Attorney General Underwood. “Now, Croman tenants will finally get the restitution and protections they deserve as a result of this unprecedented settlement — the largest-ever with an individual landlord. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure landlords play by the rules, and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law when they don’t.”
The consent decree requires Croman to pay $8 million into a Tenant Restitution Fund – the largest-ever monetary settlement with an individual landlord. Tenants are eligible for restitution if they are or were a tenant in a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment owned by Croman between July 1, 2011 and the date of the agreement (December 20, 2017); they received a buyout of less than $20,000, not including any amount that purported to cover rent or arrears; and no other tenant in their apartment received money from the restitution fund. Several hundred current and former tenants are potentially eligible to apply for these restitution funds.
This week, JND Legal Administration, the claims administrator, mailed claim notices and forms to current and former rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants in Croman’s buildings. Those forms and additional information are also available at www.cromanrestitutionfund.com.
The $8 million will be divided equally among eligible claimants and distributed to tenants in installments over a period of 38 to 42 months, with the first installment coming as soon as the claims administrator processes all of the first-round claim forms.
In addition to this $8 million Tenant Restitution Fund, the settlement requires that a new, independent management company run Croman's residential properties for five years. In June, the AG's office selected Michael Besen’s New York City Management to oversee Croman's real-estate empire, which includes 47 buildings with 617 units in the East Village.
Croman was released from the Manhattan Correctional Facility on June 1 after serving eight months of a one-year jail sentence and paid a $5 million tax settlement following separate criminal charges brought by the AG's office for fraudulent refinancing of loans and tax fraud.
Previously on EV Grieve:
AG's office: Steve Croman agrees to pay $8 million to the tenants he harassed
I live across from one of Croman's buildings which was mysteriously emptied of all the long-term tenants awhile back, and which now exists to rent high-priced crash pads to those under the age of 30 who want to PARTY early & often.
ReplyDeleteI hope every one of my former neighbors who got kicked out of that building gets full restitution.
Comment to.anonymous. This. Sounds like Croman 1st purchase building at 221 Mott street.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone notice that if you take the money for 7 years worth of harassment you must agree to never come forward and talk about it again and sign a waiver. This protect both Croman and falconite. But it do not say Croman and falconite also must bring up the subject. It’s a one way issue. 100% benefit Croman. Do not take the money or you may be sorry you did if newb problem pops up in the future.
You have to be stupid to agree to this. Croman is paying tenant to lock you from future reference all his harassment.
ReplyDeleteIn consideration for my receipt of a disbursement from the Tenant Restitution Fund from the New York State Office of the Attorney General, paid to me pursuant to a consent decree dated December 20, 2017 between the Attorney General, Steven Croman, Croman Real Estate Inc., 9300 Realty Management Inc., 9300 Realty Inc., and the special-purpose limited liability real-estate entities that own the properties which Steven Croman exercises control over as described in the Corrected Verified Petition, Anthony Falconite, and Falconite LLC ("Respondents"), I release any right I may have to recover monetary damages against Respondents for claims occurring on or before December 29, 2017, solely based upon claims in the Corrected Verified Petition, including but not limited to (1) tenant harassment in violation of the New York Rent Stabilization Code, 9 N.Y.C.R.R. § 2525.5; (2) tenant harassment in violation of the New York City Administrative Code§ 27-2005; (3) failure to obtain work permits, violation of stop-work orders, and concealment of illegal construction, in violation of the New York City Construction Codes§ 28-101.1 et seq.; (4) failure to use lead-safe work practices, remediate lead-paint based hazards, provide lead-based paint notices and disclosures to tenants, conduct dust clearance tests, and conduct annual inspections for lead-based paint hazards, in violation of New York City Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act§ 27-2056.1 et seq.; (5) acting as an unlicensed tenant relocator or failing to supervise persons who act as tenant relocators in violation of New York Real Property Law§ 441 & 441-c; (6) engaging in deceptive practices in the conduct of business by filing baseless lawsuits, serving tenants with deceptive rent demands, charging unauthorized legal fees, and using false pretenses and deception to gain access to tenants' apartments in violation of New York General Business Law§ 349; and (7) commingling tenants' security deposits, failing to provide tenants with the name and address of the financial institution in which their security deposits are held, and failing to place security deposits in interest- bearing accounts when required, in violation of New York General Obligations Law§ 7-103 and N.Y.C.R.R. § 2525.4.