Defendant claims ownership of entire New Yorker hotel building
New Delhi:
Taking advantage of little-known local housing regulations, a New York City man found a way to live in a prestigious Manhattan hotel for five years without paying a penny.Prosecutors are now accusing Mickey Barreto of going too far, reports say News agency AP.
They claimed Mr. Barreto was trying to assert ownership of the entire New Yorker hotel building and even tried to collect rent from another tenant.
Mr. Barreto, 48, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with filing false property records, the report added. The report added that he was surprised by the police’s aggressive approach and said he believed the matter should be handled as a civil rather than criminal matter.
Mr. Barreto’s recent indictment on fraud and contempt of court charges marks the latest development in a legal saga that began years ago. It all started when he and his boyfriend paid just $200 to rent one of the many rooms in the towering Art Deco-style New Yorker Hotel, which was built in 1930 and has more than 1,000 rooms.
Shortly after moving to New York from Los Angeles, Mr. Barreto’s boyfriend told him about a vulnerability. This legal loophole allows individuals living in single rooms in buildings built before 1969 to request a six-month rental arrangement.
Mr. Barreto claimed that because he had paid for one night’s stay at the hotel, he qualified as a tenant under the rule, the report said.
Mr. Barreto took the case to court the next day after asking the hotel for a lease but being turned down. Although the judge initially denied it, he persisted and appealed to the state Supreme Court, ultimately winning.
According to the court’s ruling, the judge ordered the hotel to provide Mr. Barreto with a key. Since then, Mr. Barreto claims he lived at the hotel until July 2023 without paying any rent.
He explained that while the building’s owners had no interest in negotiating a lease with him, they were unable to evict him from the premises.
Manhattan prosecutors confirmed that a housing court granted Mr. Barreto his room. However, they claim he went further. In 2019, he submitted a forged deed to the city’s website claiming ownership of the entire New Yorker hotel building, the report added.
The document seeks to transfer ownership from the World Christian Unity Holy Spirit Society, which has owned the property since 1976. The church was founded in South Korea by Pastor Sun Myung Moon.
Mr. Barreto then attempted to take control of various aspects of the building, “including demanding rent from one of the hotel’s tenants, registering the hotel in his name with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to pay water and sewer bills, and requiring the hotel’s bank to transfer His account was transferred to him,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
“As alleged, Mickey Barreto repeatedly fraudulently claimed ownership of one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. New Yorker Hotel.”
Barreto said in the statement: “I never intended to commit any fraud. I do not believe I ever committed any fraud. And I never made a penny from it.”
