Dead scofflaw still owes city $100M-plus

The late Herman Kraus had been fighting with the city over taxes for decades

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Developer and notorious scofflaw Herman Kraus may have died, but even that hasn’t stopped the lawsuits against him from piling up.

Kraus had been arguing with the city over interest and property taxes on a dozen properties since 1991, but negotiations have since lowered that number to six buildings that owe more than $100 million, according to the New York Post.

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All of the buildings are part of Kraus’ 250-unit affordable housing project in Williamsburg called Buff, which he owns with other investors through the company Development Associates Buff. The top scofflaw building in that development on South 2nd Street owed the city about $26.5 million as of Tuesday.

“The owners have been working with the city on a resolution to settlement of all outstanding matters,” a Development Associates Buff spokesman told the Post, “and are committed to concluding that process as soon as possible.”

Last year, The Real Deal ranked the Kraus Organization as number 10 on its list of two-generation real estate owners by square feet. [NYP]Eddie Small