AP Photo/Cihan News Agency
Ertugrul Osman, accompanied by his wife Princes Zeynep, shows his Turkish passport to journalists upon his arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, Turkey, Monday, July 19, 2004.
A princess - yes, a real one - is fighting to stay in the Upper East Side walk-up that she has lived in for more than 20 years, according to The New York Times.
Her Imperial Highness Zeynep Osman was married to the late Ertugrul Osman, who was an heir to the Ottoman Empire throne. After their marriage, she moved into the third floor walk-up on 74th and Lexington.
Since Osman's passing in 2009, Princess Zeynep, 69, has been residing in the 1,600-square-foot, rent-controlled apartment for only $390 a month.
However, after her building was sold in 2011 for $10.1 million, her new landlord, Avi Dishi, told her in October that he was planning to evict her, according to The New York Times.
"The first words out of his mouth were: 'I want you out. I paid too much for this building to have you here,' " Princess Zeynep told The New York Times.
Right now, Dishi and the Princess are entangled in a legal battle over the eviction. According to the Times, Dishi said in court papers that the only lease he received was from 1977. Past expiration, the occupancy then became month to month.
In his attempt to terminate the lease, he is currently seeking proof from Princess Zeynep that she is even entitled to the apartment, as the only names on the lease were reportedly that of her late husband and his first wife who died in 1985.
While Princess Zeynep is determined to stay in her apartment (the only one in the building), she is open to a deal for the right price. "It pains me to leave, but he must be reasonable," she told The New York Times. "I am accustomed to a certain lifestyle, and he cannot just throw me out."