The Real Deal New York

Steve Croman is a residential landlord who focuses on East Village and Lower East Side, pre-War buildings. He is the founder of Croman Real Estate, which is a full-service real estate management and brokerage firm, 9300 Realty. In June 2017, Croman pleaded guilty to three felony charges of grand larceny, tax fraud and a third fraud charge stemming from filing a false instrument. He will serve a year at Riker's Island and pay a $5 million settlement.

The firm, which was founded in 1990 by Croman, has worked with the city to convert apartments into dorm rooms for the City University of New York and has had a particular focus on Lower East Side apartments. Croman has also built a reputation as a hard-edged and controversial landlord. The firm made the Village Voices 10 Worst Landlords list in 1998 for allegedly using lawsuits to pry tenants out of their apartments. In 2014, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman initiated an investigation into Croman amidst accusations of tenant harassment. Later that year politicians took aim at the firm, issuing a statement condemning Croman and 9300 Realty (which oversaw several of the firm's properties on the Lower East Side). The firm (along with its owner) also has been accused of poorly done gut renovations and improperly withholding brokerage commissions in lawsuits.