Steve Croman Defaulted on $217 Million, Lenders Say

Infamous Manhattan landlord Steve Croman is dealing with more than 28 active foreclosure lawsuits targeting properties he controls. In total, lenders allege Croman’s entities have defaulted on more than $231 million in loan principals.

It’s just the latest legal challenge for Croman, one of the few New York landlords to see the inside of a prison cell.

Twenty-one of the foreclosure suits were filed in the last week by lender Orange Owner LLC. The principal of those associated loans totals more than $189 million, according to a tally by The Real Deal. Orange Owner LLC took over the notes after the collapse of New York Community Bank, where Croman had originally gone for financing.

But Orange Owner isn’t the only lender seeking payback from Croman. Delaware Trust Company, acting as a trustee for another lender, has filed seven suits against Croman’s entities, going back to this summer. Principal on those loans totals $42.4 million.

Delaware Trust accused Croman of failing to pay insurance and water bills for those properties. In a court filing, Croman denied many of the allegations. However, neither he nor lawyers representing him at Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein LLP immediately responded to a request for comment.

The properties facing foreclosure span much of Manhattan, from Nolita and Chinatown to Yorkville and the Upper East Side.

Croman, once dubbed one of the city’s worst multifamily landlords, is perhaps used to the hot seat. After years of accusations that he defrauded and harassed tenants, Croman entered a settlement with the New York attorney general’s office in 2017 to pay $8 million in tenant restitution and hand over management of his properties for five years. That same year, he completed an eight-month prison stint for mortgage and tax fraud.

Separately, Croman was sued this summer by his father, Edward. The elder Croman is hoping to dissolve 63 limited companies he is part of with his son, alleging that he hasn’t received disbursements, loans haven’t been repaid and the deterioration of his relationship with Steve has made running the companies impractical.

The past weeks’ foreclosures were previously reported by Crain’s and the New York Post, but the number of suits has since increased.

Kelly Schneid of Moritt Hock & Hamroff, representing Orange Owner LLC in the suits, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Christopher Gorman of Rosenberg & Estis, representing Delaware Trust Company, declined to comment.