Ceiling collapse forces tenants out of Croman’s LES building

Residents of a Lower East Side building owned by embattled landlord Steve Croman were forced to leave on Saturday after their ceiling began to collapse.

The city’s Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order for 159 Stanton Street, temporarily forcing two families out, DNAinfo reported. A DOB inspector deemed the building to be “imminently perilous to life” after finding that the ceiling was partially collapsed on the building’s second floor due to construction on the floor above.

A representative for Croman said the tenants haven’t allowed the landlord access to the apartments to perform “routine maintenance.”

“If the tenants are genuinely motivated to get these repairs done and grant us access to these apartments, we are happy to assess and fix these issues as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for Croman told DNAinfo.

This is just the latest headache for the landlord. Croman is being sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who accused the landlord of harassing and coercing tenants out of rent-regulated apartments to expand his portfolio, which includes more than 100 buildings.

In October, a former superintendent who managed 11 of Croman’s buildings filed a lawsuit against the landlord, claiming that he’s owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.  [DNAinfo] — Kathryn Brenzel