Fifty-five bucks to live here? Hot damn! (PropertyShark)
Rent control might be running out by the decade's end, but some rent-controlled tenants gladly pay their double digit rent and plan to pass it on to future generations, much to their landlords (and lawyers') dismay.
Consider the case of two elders in Soho–Thomas Lombardi and Robert Cohen—who have been paying $55.01 and $71.23, respectively, for their apartments, according to the Post.
Mr. Lombardi, son of Italian immigrants, moved to his apartment on 5 Spring Street in the 1940s. The rent, which qualifies for the pre-1971 rent control rates, has been $55.01 for the past two decades. He currently lives there with his "much younger wife," the Post noted.
On the other hand, Robert Cohen, a retired military meteorologist, pays $71.23 for his 500 square foot one bedroom apartment. He earned $1,100 a month from his military pension, but also does nude modeling on the side at $18.50 an hour. Despite being 87, he does not plan on letting the apartment succumb to the Manhattan market-rate market, and instead might be marrying a 41 year old lover from his past:
Because New York has legalized gay marriage, Combs said he is considering tying the knot with a 41-year-old former lover from Nepal who is seeking political asylum in the United States.
Under the city’s rent-control laws, the apartment would pass to Combs’ spouse after his death if the spouse had lived there from the beginning of the marriage.
The living hasn't been entirely easy, however. Mr. Cohen's landlord tried to boot him for being a hoarder and living in hazardous conditions. Wouldn't it make sense to host a yard sale and rack up enough cash to pay for the new few years? New Yorkers love vintage.
mewing@observer.com
