We've seen things you people wouldn't believe: $1,000/month rent-stabilized Upper West Side apartments; $331.76/month four-bedroom Village apartments; $55.01/month SoHo pads; $287/month Prospect Park co-ops. But nothing could prepare us for West Village tenant Jud Parker's deal: $10/month for a 1,400 sq ft apartment on Minetta Street ...for the next 50 years.
The Post has all the details on Parker's amazing deal, which he made with original landlord Wilfred Schuman, who owned a pair of three-story town houses at 12 and 14 Minetta Street since 1993. If the deal seems a little too-good-to-be-true to you, just imagine how new landlord Pari Dulac felt when she found out about it. "When I saw the lease, I couldn’t believe it," she told the Post. "I thought it was a joke."
Schuman, who died in 2010, made the deal with Parker and his ladyfriend Stefanie Tyler in August 2009; the 50-year lease for the duplex, which includes two bedrooms and a back yard, also has a 10-year renewal option. Dulac has now filed a lawsuit against Parker, claiming he tricked Schuman, who suffered from dementia, into agreeing to the deal.
It seems things were so bad, other tenants had to set up a bank account to accept rent payments for the buildings on behalf of Schuman. Once Parker took control of the apartment after Schuman's death, he allegedly almost immediately started subletting the apartment for $2,500.
Dulac, who bought the building for $2.75 million, wants to rent the apartment for around $6K a month, which is about how much Parker would pay for his entire 50-year lease.
Parker defended himself, telling the Post the lease was a "gift." "I was a surrogate son. I took care of him my whole life," Parker said. "[Dulac] wants me out because she’s greedy."
