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White Horse Tavern Building Reportedly Sold To Infamous Landlord Steve Croman
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 7, 2019
Modified Mar 7, 2019
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 7, 2019
Modified Mar 7, 2019
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The legendary White Horse Tavern, the literary watering hole where Dylan Thomas had his last drink(s), has been sold, along with other buildings on the same West Village block—and it appears the new owner is the notorious slumlord Steve Croman.
The sale was first reported by Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, which also noted a community board meeting next week for a new liquor license: "Eytan Sugaman [sic] or LLC to be formed, d/b/a White Horse Tavern, 567 Hudson St. 10014 (OP - Bar/Tavern with sidewalk cafe)."
Sugarman, the bar's new operator, told Eater, "We are only focused on preserving the rich history and legacy of this iconic institution for New Yorkers." He's also promising "updated infrastructure." Sugarman owns the UWS Made in New York Pizza, which was accused of stealing a sauce recipe from Prince Street Pizza; Southern Hospitality, which featured Justin Timberlake as a founder or something; and Times Square steakhouse Hunt & Fish Club, which is co-owned by... Anthony Scaramucci.
"White Horse will become Don Trump Jr and Company's FratBro/WhiteBro hang out," Jeremiah's Vanishing New York's tipster fears.
The Commercial Observer reports, "The sellers of 561 to 567 Hudson Street at West 11th Street, Eddie Brennan and James Munson, are ready to retire, but said their deal was contingent upon obtaining a leaseholder to maintain the century-old bar as is." Sugarman reportedly signed a 15-year-lease, and the broker involved with the deal said, "Eytan Sugarman will run it exactly as it’s been for the past 140 years."
Details of how the White Horse Tavern's lease appears to have changed hands are unclear; according to the Villager, "A White Horse bartender, Mackey, told this paper he has no knowledge of any change in ownership or a possible closing of the historic tavern. He said everything seems to be the same, including Eddie Brennan still being its co-owner."
Sugarman's rep confirmed to Eater that the building's new owner is Croman, whose practice of harassing and evicting tenants "sparked the formation of the first landlord-specific tenant union since the 1980s." Among the allegations that Croman, and broker Barry Swartz, faced: "Incentivizing said harassment by calling rent-stabilized tenants 'targets' in communication with employees, and having the workers compete to obtain the most buyouts, with bonuses of as much as $10,000; Filing repeated baseless lawsuits against tenants to pressure them out, and creating grounds for the cases by refusing to acknowledge receipt of rent, then suing for back rent."
Croman served jail time for tax and mortgage fraud as well as grand larceny and was released last year. The CNBC show American Greed even aired a segment about him, calling him the "Landlord from Hell."
Tagged
anthony scaramucci
eytan sugarman
real estate
steve croman
west village
white horse tavern
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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