Sheffield’s “Rentboy” can finish out his lease

Condo board deal gives prostitute tenant another month to surrender keys

Residents of the Sheffield may not have seen the last of Stephan Greving, the admitted prostitute who allegedly hosted clients at his luxury sublet and was caught in a police sting operation.

He and the condominium board recently settled an eviction suit, as previously reported, but The Real Deal has learned that the deal gives Greving another month to vacate the apartment, when his lease ends, while the unit owners, an Italian couple named Bruno Cova and Bettina Beck, must pay the board $10,000 in legal fees and in exchange for settling the claims.

A New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed the case last Thursday, a day after the parties filed a settlement agreement that gives Greving the chance to stay until May 14. It was not clear whether Greving was still residing there.

The Sheffield condo board sued Greving and the unit owners in early March, seeking to evict him from the 582-unit building, at 322 West 57th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues.

Greving was arrested at the Sheffield in October after an undercover police officer posed as a prospective client and Greving agreed to perform oral sex for money, a NYPD spokesperson has confirmed.

Greving was charged with one misdemeanor count of prostitution, pleaded guilty and was released the next day, criminal court records show.

But the Sheffield board claimed that Greving continued to bring clients back to the building. He allegedly used a profile on the male escort website Rentboy.com, under the pseudonym “Dave Bruno,” to solicit clients. The profile no longer appears on the website.

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Under the terms of the settlement, Greving effectively agreed to halt any prostitution or other illegal activities at the unit, but he did not admit to the allegations in the suit. If he does not comply with the terms of the agreement, the condo board or the unit owners can obtain a writ of assistance, essentially a court order instructing law enforcement to act, the settlement says.

The agreement also gives Greving the option to leave by this Saturday, although that would have required 10 days written notice in order to avoid paying April rent.

As part of a separate confidential settlement, Greving agreed to pay Cova and Beck’s legal fees.

Greving did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Cova. And calls to their attorneys were not immediately returned.

Cova, co-chair of the Milan office of law firm Paul Hastings, and Beck purchased the unit in October 2008 for more than $1.3 million, property records show. Cova and Beck leased the unit to Greving and a man named David Klopp for $3,150 per month beginning May 15, 2011, according to a copy of the lease filed in court by the condo board.

Klopp was also named as a defendant and was part of the settlement, but it was not clear what relationship he had to Greving.

Greving’s alleged trysts came to light through an anonymous letter submitted to the Sheffield’s managing agent, Rose Associates, which took over as the developer of the project from Kent Swig. Rose has declined to comment on the suit.