Tenant Moved to Woodstock

Facts: Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized loft tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant had moved into the apartment in 1988. Tenant was an artist. In 1997, she stayed at a summer artists' colony in Woodstock. After that, she stayed in the Woodstock area for extended periods. Tenant claimed that she spent much of her time at the apartment and didn't intend to give up her primary residence there. Landlord also claimed that tenant was subletting and rent gouging. Tenant claimed that she had a roommate. Court: Landlord wins. After tenant stayed at the artists' colony in the summer of 1997, she remained in Woodstock and showed an intent to reside there permanently. She advertised for employment in Woodstock, bought a car upstate, and registered it in Woodstock. She rented or stayed at various houses up there, opened a bank account, joined a gym, and had a local Internet service provider. At the same time, tenant sublet the apartment to several people and charged them twice the legal rent.

Prince v. Bisson: NYLJ, 10/17/01, p. 23, col. 5 (Civ. Ct. Kings; Rodriguez, J)