What to Expect

When your building is bought by Croman,

if you are a rent stabilized tenant, Croman will do almost anything to get you out.

You can expect Croman's organization will be looking for ANY reason to get you out. Don't give them one.

Make sure:

  • This is your primary residence
  • You are not illegally subletting the apartment (see guidelines)
  • You are not behind in your rent payment (see "Mistakes" with your rent payment)
  • You have not renovated or altered the apartment without written permission

Croman will hire investigators to track you, and gather information to be used against you, to take your apartment.

Take pictures of these individuals and file a harassment complaint with the NYPD, insist they take the report, get the officer's name, badge number, and the report number. Confirmation of report will be mailed to you once processed. Follow up if you do not hear back in a reasonable time.

Once you are out, Croman follows a proven path to destabilize the apartment by gut renovating it, and stands to make a lot more money.


First: 

Check your rent history by calling . Expect a short automated menu, then a live operator to whom you will give your name and address.

Be sure to ask for full rent history back to 1984, it will be mailed to you.

You may also visit DHCR to receive a free copy of your rent history. Bring identification and a copy of your lease. For Manhattan, the location is 25 Beaver Street, 5th Floor.

Do this quickly as there is a 4-year statute of limitations for overcharge damages.

Knowing the rent history of your apartment is very important. You may find you are being overcharged, or your market rate apartment has been illegally destabilized.

Make sure the correct names, rent amounts, and lease dates are registered for the apartment.

Landlords are required by law to register rent stabilized apartments by July 31 every year. Use this date as a guideline for when to request your rent history. 

Most importantly, as a rent stabilized tenant, you have the right to renew your lease. 

Once you have one, a rent stabilized lease is implied, meaning, you do not need a new one.

As long as you occupy the apartment legally and pay your rent, you have a lease.


Market Rate Tenants:

You may believe as a market rate tenant you have little in common with rent stabilized tenants. However, it is indicated, do a , Croman treats market rate tenants as badly as those who are rent stabilized.

Not only are formerly comfortable apartments renovated and chopped into cramped, multiple room dwellings at very high rents, displacing former rent stabilized tenants; as a market rate tenant, you will suffer the same problems as everyone in the building when renovations and interruptions to services occur, or the results of shoddy construction take their toll.



Depending on your credit history or nationality, Croman may require several months security deposit and as much as a whole year of rent in advance.

Indications are, he prefers you never see this money again, even if you are entitled to it.

When you consider the high rent, several months deposit is a significant amount of money. 

If he keeps enough security deposits, it's a lot of money. For this reason, he wants market rate tenants to come and go quickly. 

Sometimes conditions deteriorate so drastically in Croman buildings, tenants opt to leave before their leases are up, forfeiting their deposits.

One has to wonder if this isn't just part of Croman's M.O.

Many Croman tenants are new to New York, young, inexperienced, co-signed by parents, are rich, don't care, or don't know the true identity of their landlords, Steve & Harriet Croman, and will not complain to the Attorney General or hire a lawyer; therefore it's an easy and lucrative cycle Croman repeats.

Croman requires access and keys to your apartment for the last 2 months to show prospective tenants, otherwise you forfeit your security deposit. 

Many brokers will have direct access to your apartment, that in some cases has resulted in the theft of belongings.

For $20.00, 9300 Realty will sell the keys to your apartment to any broker who asks.

The agreed upon hours and arrangements to show your apartment are not respected.

Tenants have been startled or awaken to find a broker in their apartment or bedroom showing it to strangers without notice.