Ben Shaoul owes Steve Croman some back rent on Avenue B

In recent months, 44 Avenue B was in use as a sales office for Liberty Toye, Ben Shaoul's condo conversion a few blocks away at Fifth Street.

In early May, The Real Deal reported that Shaoul was in contract to sell the former nursing home for $85 million. The Liberty Toye sales office was vacated around that time.

Now, as several EVG readers have pointed out, there are legal documents taped to the empty storefront between Third Street and Fourth Street ... stating that Shaoul's Magnum Real Estate Group owes the rent dating back to March...





The Five Day Notice from the landlord, Steve Croman's 9300 Realty, shows that Shaoul owes the $9,300 base rent for March through June ... for a total of $41,345.91...



Shaoul has until Friday to pay or "surrender up the possession of said premises to the Landlord," the recently-released-from-prison Croman.

Shaoul and Croman are among the downtown landlords that elected officials, tenant advocates and residents often cite as the most aggressive in harassing tenants, as multiple published reports have noted through the years (here ... here ... here ... and here, as examples).

In 2012, Shaoul reportedly paid $25 million for the 240-bed Cabrini Nursing Center — which provided health care for low-income elderly residents in the East Village — and eventually closed it down for use as a residential building.

No word on who the new buyer is for 62 Avenue B.