East Village Tavern closes amid dispute with landlord Croman

UPDATED, Nov. 23, 10:45 a.m.: The East Village Tavern at 158 Avenue C will close its doors over an unspecified disagreement with its landlord (and reputed slumlord) Steve Croman.

“It is with a heavy heart that we regret to announce that do to a disagreement with our landlord, the East Village Tavern will closing this weekend,” the bar’s management said in a Facebook post Friday. “Please stop by and see us for one last drink or bite to eat this weekend. After Sunday night it will be no more.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what the dispute was about.

Croman was arrested in May on 20 felony counts, including allegedly defrauding his lenders by lying about his rental income. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

According to a report, Croman deregulated at least 390 apartments by filing frivolous lawsuits against rent-stabilized tenants, creating squalid living conditions and hiring an ex-cop to harass them.

“We are sad to see a long standing tenant close its doors, but unfortunately the business has been unable to consistently pay its rent in the last 12 months,” a spokesperson for Croman’s 9300 realty told TRD. “We have made several attempts to strike a deal to settle the debt however given there has been no effort to make payment on the more than $78,000 that is owed, we were forced to part ways with our tenant.” [DNAinfo] — Konrad Putzier