Crown, which owns one of New York’s biggest retail empires, was founded by the late Stanley I. Chera, who died in April 2020. Isaac and Richard Chera, two of Stanley’s sons, run the company. Their brother, Haim, moved over to Vornado when Crown acquired a 24 percent stake in the real estate investment trust’s retail portfolio. Crown also has a brokerage arm, Crown Retail Services.
Crown benefited from the city’s retail boom of the mid 2010s, leaving it exposed to retail’s subsequent downturn. After the Gap did not pay rent at 170 Broadway, Crown defaulted on the $70 million mortgage covering the retail condo at the Financial District property.