Croman Name is Back in the Flow, Featuring Next Generation

The Croman name is playing in the Manhattan multifamily sandbox again, but this time the next generation is betting on the winning strategy.

Jake and Adam Croman have quietly assembled a portfolio of small apartment buildings across Manhattan, leaning into rent-stabilized assets that much of the market has shunned since the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act upended the economics of value-add investing.

Their latest purchase, a five-story building at 118 Mulberry Street in Chinatown, is roughly half rent-stabilized, an eyebrow-raising acquisition at a time when many investors continue to avoid regulated housing.

It’s a generational shift for a New York real estate family. Steve Croman built his empire by accumulating aging walkups during an era when investors could count on deregulation and apartment turnover to drive returns. His sons are buying into a market where those assumptions no longer apply.

Most of their acquisitions are relatively small buildings with commercial storefronts that can supplement residential income. Alongside fashion heir Jeremy Tahari and other investors, they’ve purchased properties including 303 West 116th Street, 323 East 108th Street and several East Harlem and Alphabet City buildings. In one case, they recapitalized a property with NBA player Mo Bamba after closing.

Just as notable as the acquisitions is the branding. Jake Croman repeatedly emphasized that he and his brother operate independently from their father, who served prison time after pleading guilty to mortgage and tax fraud and later agreed to an $8 million settlement with the state over alleged tenant harassment.

The family’s name remains closely tied to one of New York’s most controversial landlord stories, making that separation more than a corporate formality.

Still, the overlap hasn’t disappeared entirely. Their latest acquisition listed their mother, Harriet Croman, as signatory and correspondence was directed through Centennial Properties, the firm long associated with Steve Croman. Jake said in a statement that neither his father nor Centennial owns the property, describing the mailing address as an administrative convenience after multiple office moves.

Whether that distinction resonates may matter less than the investment thesis itself. The young Cromans may share a last name with one of the city’s best-known landlords, but their portfolio suggests they’re trying to build a business for a different era.

This week, news of impending nuptials at Madison Square Garden dominated much of the headlines in New York. Here’s what we were watching while the world watched 34th Street.

Michael Cohen misses payment deadline to Silverstein in Brooklyn Tower dispute

Michael Stern missed a court-ordered deadline to deposit $2 million with Silverstein Capital Partners regarding an arbitration dispute over costs associated with Brooklyn Tower.

The payment was required under a 2024 agreement where, if Stern contested reimbursement demands, an escrow deposit was necessary while the issue was resolved through arbitration.

Silverstein has petitioned the state Supreme Court to enforce the arbitrator’s ruling after Stern failed to meet the June 25 deadline.

Gary Barnett presses on in $15M legal battle with ex-partners

Gary Barnett is appealing a decision in a years-long legal battle against former business associates Yoel Weber and Yoel Leonorovitz, who are suing him for over $15 million in allegedly unpaid electrical contracting fees.

Barnett counterclaimed that he holds a 33.3 percent interest in both the contracting company involved and the Pascack Entities, seeking to recover his share of the proceeds from property sales.

A judge recently denied Barnett’s motion to strike the plaintiffs’ pleadings after finding his legal team failed to provide an affirmation of good faith, prompting his appeal.

Landlord targeted by Mamdani facing foreclosures on $36 million in loans

A New York landlord targeted by Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing tens of millions of dollars in foreclosure cases.

Rajmattie Persaud is connected to four foreclosure cases tied to about $36 million in loans from the former Signature Bank, according to complaints filed this month in Queens County Supreme Court.

The foreclosure comes as Persaud’s Fordham Fulton Realty is battling the city over more than $31 million in court-ordered penalties and fees tied to housing code violations. The company has filed for bankruptcy.

How the Shabselses’ play to leverage a half-billion-dollar summer camp empire spiraled into bankruptcy

Finally, the Shabsels brothers’ company, Simad Holdings, filed for bankruptcy after defaulting on more than $200 million in Israeli bonds and accumulating massive debt from high-interest merchant cash advances, endangering 30 camps and a large real estate portfolio.

The brothers relied on a risky financing strategy that split properties into ground leases to achieve near-100 percent leverage, while simultaneously diverting millions in company funds and facing scrutiny for predatory lending practices.

Despite securing $60 million in emergency bankruptcy financing to ensure camps remain open for the summer, lenders, investors, and regulators are demanding answers about missing funds and hidden debt structures.