Isn’t that rich!
One of the beneficiaries of the expanded rent bill now before Gov. Cuomo may be the wealthy hubby of model Emily Ratajkowski — a filmmaker worth millions who has shafted his landlord out of $100,000 and counting.
Should Cuomo sign the new Loft Law by June 26, Sebastian Bear-McClard could seek coverage to be considered a rent-stabilized tenant of 49 Bleecker St. in Noho — eligible for the same protections as the starving artists for whom the law was intended.
But even more galling, his landlord told The Post, is that Bear-McClard is a jerk of a neighbor — a loud, inconsiderate tenant who rudely puffs smoke out his window.
“If he’s not paying his rent, he sure as hell doesn’t care about any other rules,” said Antoni “Toni” Ghosh, who has been locked in a two-year court battle over Bear-McClard’s occupancy.
The 32-year-old producer — whose short directing credits include “Bottle Poppaz” — moved into the second-floor space in 2013, subleasing the airy one-room apartment for $4,900 a month.
But he stopped paying rent in March 2017, according to Ghosh, who works in construction management and has rented the entire floor in the former manufacturing building since 1995. He subleases two lofts there for extra income.
By July 1, Bear-McClard will owe him $142,000, the landlord claimed.
Meanwhile, Ghosh has had to scrape money together to pay his own $23,000-a-month rent to the building’s owner — and he said his neighbor’s behavior feels like a vendetta.
“I didn’t do anything egregious to this guy,” he said. “I left him alone.”
The expanded coverage is meant to provide affordable housing for artists, who can’t be evicted while their Loft Law application is under review. They would be protected from unlawful eviction or massive rent increases under the law, which is separate from a rent-reform package the governor signed Friday.
“[Bear-McClard] filed a claim in anticipation that the state Legislature would do exactly what they did,” said Carolyn Daly, a spokeswoman for a group of loft-building owners that includes 49 Bleecker.
“Many loft tenants, including Bear-McClard, are also seeking millions in cash buyouts by agreeing to vacate their units at the urging of their tenant attorneys. Their self-serving financial motives are as naked and revealing as Emily Ratajkowksi’s Instagram posts.”
Bear-McClard has asked for $2 million to leave, according to a representative of the building’s owner.
The couple, who married last year, only occasionally calls 49 Bleecker St. home.
Ratajkowski has posted photos of the pad on her “Emrata” Instagram account, which has 23 million followers.
The 28-year-old stunner just plunked down paid $2 million for a home in Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood, according to reports.
Bear-McClard’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, but has previously said his client is simply fighting to “save his home.”