West Village resident Jud Parker has, without a doubt, the best lease in the city. In 2009, Parker got a West Village landlord to sign a lease basically gifting him a duplex apartment on Minetta Street for $10 a month — for the 50 next years. But now, the building’s new landlord is challenging the deal.
Landlord Pari Dulac claims the former owner, who died in 2010, had dementia when the lease was signed, according to the New York Post. “
When I saw the lease, I couldn’t believe it,” Dulac told the Post. “I thought it was a joke.”
Wilfred Schuman owned a pair of three-story town houses at 12 and 14 Minetta Street since 1993. Just one year before his death, Parker and girlfriend Stefanie Tyler signed the incredible lease on a 1,400-square-foot apartment at 14 Minetta Street, which features two bedrooms, a back yard and, best of all, a 10-year renewal option.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Friday, Dulac claims Parker swindled Schuman, who was in his 70s. He also claims that Parker quickly began subleasing the apartment for $2,500 a month.
Dulac paid $2.75 million for the building and believes she could rent Parker’s unit for $6,000 a month.
However, Parker claims the lease was a gift from the dying man.
“I was a surrogate son. I took care of him my whole life,” Parker said. “[Dulac] wants me out because she’s greedy.” [NYP]