From the Daily News today:
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has launched a probe into the potentially illegal tactics used by landlord Steven Croman, 47, to force rent-stabilized tenants out of their valuable apartments, a source said.
The AG is investigating potential violations of city and state laws, including numerous infractions related to tenant harassment by Croman, the source said.
The article includes a story from Cordelia and Graham Winton, who live in a building on East Eighth Street that Croman/9300 Realty bought last year.
They declined Croman's buyout offer, and remain living in their $1,250 apartment while neighbors above and below them pay $6,000.
When they returned from a vacation last Saturday, they discovered that someone cranked up the steam heat in their building while they were away.
The heat was so extreme, wine bottles had uncorked, spewing their contents on the floor. A glass cabinet shattered, wood shelves warped and collapsed, the plastic spray arm in the sink melted, an outlet popped out of the wall and the ceiling and walls bubbled.
You can read the article here for the rest of this.
Yesterday, the Daily News reported that Schneiderman slapped a cease-and-desist order on one of Croman's employees, ex-cop Anthony Falconite, who "tenants say has engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation to force them out."
Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch a lot of people speak out against Steve Croman and 9300 Realty
Despite plea, landlord doubling rent on East Village family with cancer-stricken 2 year old
[Photo of Steve and Harriet Croman by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for DuJour]