Exclusive | Landlord sues upscale squatters in luxe NYC tower who racked up a colossal $78K in back rent

The rent is too damn high — except when it isn’t being paid.Two deadbeat residents with an apparent taste for the finest are squatting in a swanky Central Park South tower, having racked up an eye-popping $78,375 plus interest in back rent, a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.And, according to other records, this isn’t their first run-in with alleged financial issues. Daniel and Susan Bancroft have lived in No.9GH in the white-gloved 240 Central Park South since August 2023.

The couple signed a two-year renewal on July 1, 2025 at the tower — home to the pricey Marea seafood restaurant — with the monthly rent climbing from $12,500 in the first year to $13,062.50 for the second. According to the suit, the couple stopped paying rent in full shortly after re-upping at the 28-story, 340-unit landmarked building, which stands in the immediate shadows of the supertall towers along Billionaires’ Row.A previous listing for their unit says it spans 1,500 square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.Its floor plan shows a large dressing room and a study connected to the master suite — as well as a kitchen that leads into a large living room.The Bancrofts, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, didn’t pay rent for any of it in October or November 2025, paid less than the total in January and February 2026, and then made no rent payments from April through July 2026, according to a court exhibit.The lawsuit hits the Bancrofts with three separate causes of action: breach of contract, legal fees, and use and occupancy.

The owners seek to recoup past, current and future rent — and get an additional $50,000 for legal fees and expenses.The building owner, the Korein family, named in the lawsuit as Central Park South Associates, L.L.C, “continues to be out-of-pocket paying for expenses such as taxes and other charges, while Tenants lives in his luxury apartment rent-free,” per the suit.The Korein family, which has owned the property sin...