A Manhattan man who claimed he was the owner of the iconic New Yorker Hotel was indicted by Manhattan prosecutors Wednesday — because he never actually owned the building.
Mickey Barreto, 48, was charged with several counts of falsifying property records claiming ownership of the Art Deco landmark between May 2019 and September 2023 — which included demanding tenants to pay him rent, prosecutors allege.
Barreto’s faux-ownership came following a one-night stay at the hotel in June 2018 — when he allegedly told the hotel that he wanted to enter a lease agreement through New York’s rent stabilization law.
When the hotel balked at his offer, its owners, the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, booted Barreto from the premises — which he took up with a judge in civil court, who ordered the hotel to let him back in, court papers allege.
Barreto scored a year rent-free at the historic Midtown tower when he tried pushing his luck by claiming ownership of the building on May 28, 2019.
Barreto was able to convince clerks at the city’s Department of Finance that Judge Jack Stoller’s orders to let him back into the hotel actually meant he was now the owner of the $189 million, 43-story structure.
Prosecutors say Barreto, while acting as “owner” of the hotel, then demanded rent from one of the hotel’s tenants, registered the building under his name and demanded the hotel’s bank fork over its accounts to him.
Barreto also allegedly contacted the New Yorker Hotel’s franchisor, Wyndham, and attempted to get it to transfer the franchise over to him.
“As alleged, Mickey Barreto repeatedly and fraudulently claimed ownership of one of the City’s most iconic landmarks, the New Yorker Hotel,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate manipulation of our city’s property records by those who seek to scam the system for personal gain.”
In 2019, Barreto defended his actions, telling The Post that he “never committed any fraud.”
He pleaded not guilty and was released at his arraignment.
He’s due back in court on May 1.