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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
December 15, 2016 • $1.00 Volume 86 • Number 50
‘He’s still harassing us,’ Croman tenants claim as landlord faces prison By Dennis Lynch
N
otorious Manhattan landlord Steven Croman is in both civil and criminal court for allegedly defrauding his lenders and strong-arming rent-stabilized tenants out of his buildings. But even though he’s facing 25 years in prison, Croman hasn’t eased off his tenants at all,
some of them say. “He’s still not giving heat and hot water, still not backing off from the rotten things he would do, like jacking up rent and not returning leases to people,” said Cynthia Chaffee, a longtime Croman residential tenant. “He’s still doing it and nothing’s changed. He’s still Croman continued on p. 4
Police hit Hells Angels H.Q. for sidewalk, cycle violations after shooting BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
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ollowing a shooting outside the Hells Angels’ East Village clubhouse early Sunday morning that left a man wounded, police on Tuesday afternoon removed items from the sidewalk in front of the place. Shortly before 1 p.m., po-
lice vans closed off E. Third St. between Second and First Aves. Led by Captain Vincent Greany, the Ninth Precinct’s commanding officer, about 30 to 40 cops participated in the operation. They removed two potted plants on either side of the clubhouse’s door, as well as a bench, plus used angels continued on p. 7
Photo by milo hess
Ride on, SantaCon! Overshadowed by the Trumpocalypse, SantaCon somehow didn’t seem like such a big deal this year. The soon-to-be inebriated St. Nicks star ted out in the Flatiron District on Saturday. But the boozed-up bar crawl wasn’t as unruly this year, at least according to police, who handed out about 100 summonses but made no arrests. In one local incident, however, One and One bar, at E. First St. and First Ave., was repor tedly hit by a crew of bad Santas who busted into the place’s underground lounge and guzzled down copious bottles of liquor.
Close Encounters of N.Y.U. Kind: Massive Mercer design revealed By Dennis Lynch
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ew York University unveiled renderings last week of its multipurpose 181 Mercer building that show a sleek, modern glass-encased facility with tons of open space (inside), athletic facilities, classrooms and dorm rooms. The $1.28 million building will be N.Y.U.’s largest educational facility and is set to open by late 2021 as part of the university’s
massive “N.Y.U. 2031” 25-year redevelopment plan. N.Y.U. revealed the designs at the Dec. 8 meeting of its University Senate. The project was formerly known by the more quirky name of the “Zipper Building,” due to its zigzag appearance when viewed from overhead. However, most people — at least those not hovering in helicopters — will be looking up at it — way, way up. The educa-
tional edifice will rise 300 feet at its tallest point. The 735,000-square-foot building has three main parts. The block-long lower section — stretching from W. Houston St. to Bleecker St. along Mercer St. — houses classrooms, theaters, studios, common space and other facilities. A six-lane swimming pool and a four-basketball-court gym are located N.Y.U. continued on p. 6
In the zone: The St. John’s / Pier 40 deal ��������� p. 15 Bridge running back before it was cool ����������� p. 16 Will the hive survive? ������������ p. 12
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