A decades-long friendship that survived divorce, death and business deals is ending in a courtroom spat over an Upper East Side apartment.
Handbag designer Jane August is seeking a court order to stop her longtime friend Michelle Schwartz from tossing her out of her apartment, according to the New York Post.
Schwartz, at least at one point, valued August’s companionship to the tune of a free apartment. In 1999, Schwartz offered to pay for a Manhattan apartment. August claims that she was told she could use it “for the rest of her life.”
However, nothing was put into writing and now Schwartz wants August out of the apartment on East 78th Street. August says, while she has never paid any rent for the apartment, she helped in other ways, such as paying the common charges and renovating the building’s lobby, which helped raise the property’s value.
Schwartz declined to tell the Post precisely why she wants August out after all this time. Now, it’s up to the Manhattan Supreme Court. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron