Eileen Hickey, a former curator for the Guggenheim Museum and well-known artist, owns a rent controlled apartment that is now the subject of a lawsuit. The beef? Robert Moskowitz, Hickey’s landlord, claims the artist has turned the apartment into an Airbnb money-maker. And he wants Hickey out of the 1,800-square-feet two-bedroom loft at 460 Greenwich Street.
Hickey has allegedly been renting out her Tribeca apartment while also living in a condo in the East Village. The landlord is also suing to get a share of the money he claims Hickey earned on Airbnb.
The artist and her husband took out a $470,000 mortgage in 2010 for their condo in the East Village, according to the New York Post.
The suit claims Hickey pays $1,463.79 in monthly rent, while earning $4,500 by renting it out to temporary visitors to the city on the sharing-site. Short term sublets through Airbnb are illegal in New York. Hickey signed up for Airbnb in 2012. [NYP] – Claire Moses
