If you have heard or know the name Roman Blum, then you may be well-versed in the complex story behind the life and times of the former Staten Island resident, Holocaust survivor, and famed SI real estate developer.
If you aren't familiar with the late Mr. Blum's tale, then you are in for a twist and untimely waiting game: a decade after his passing, the Polish native's $40 million estate has yet to be resolved. Sadly enough, there are two parties who are claiming a right to Mr. Blum’s estate and it’s slowly playing out in court according to The New York Post.
As the story goes, Blum -- who died in 2012 at age 97 and was a resident of Annadale --amassed his fortune as a pioneer in State Island real estate, building and selling homes in the borough shortly after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was constructed. That was a life-time removed from his previous experiences in Poland, which included heartache and holding out hope from Nazi occupation after Roman spent five years in concentration camps in Poland and Germany before he was freed in 1945.
While success followed this survivor's story in Staten Island, the last decade since Roman's passing has been filled with failed claims and court room stallings.
Even still, Mr. Blum's legacy remains less about multimillions and a big payout between two parties and more about the places and spaces that he touched -- namely the Mariners Harbor shopping complex that bears his name.
To learn more about Roman Blum and his estate, you can read how a judge dismissed the legal malpractice case, the claim that Mr. Blum left everything to a long-lost love, and the mystery behind Roman not leaving behind a will.
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