A man paid $200.57 for one night at a famous NYC hotel, then lived there rent-free for years. Now he could go to jail.

The New Yorker Hotel, center, is seen in New York. Associated Press Mickey Barreto booked a one-night stay at the New Yorker Hotel in 2018 for $200.57. He stayed and paid no rent for five years thanks to a local housing law. Police arrested him in 2024. In February 2026, he pled guilty and will spend six months in jail. A man who lived in the iconic New Yorker Hotel for half a decade without paying a single cent in rent has been sentenced to jail. Police arrested Mickey Barreto in February ...