A Manhattan judge has ordered a resident of the Brookford on Central Park West to remove her duplex from Airbnb immediately.
Noelle Penraat is accussed of “profiteering” from her government-subsidized, rent-controlled Central Park duplex, according to the New York Post.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead has now issued a temporary injunction against the woman, who was sued by her landlord in October.
Records show that Penraat made $61,000 off her rent-controlled Central Park duplex in just nine months.
Penraat’s “own records indicate that she has been profiteering from a rent-controlled apartment partially subsidized by another government program,” Edmead wrote.
Penraat, 62, benefits from the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Program that exempts her from rent increases because she supposedly makes less than $50,000 a year. Her rent is around $4,200 a month for the four-bedroom pad at 315 Central Park West. But she is making roughly $6,500 a month through Airbnb.
However, the recent crackdown on Airbnb users in the city is putting pressure on legitimate bed and breakfasts, with some being forced to close. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron