Guns N' Roses lead guitarist is on the lookout for tenants who will occupy his 417 Grand St. co-op unit at Seward Park in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. Thirty-year-old Richard Fortus is asking $5,000 a month for the apartment.
Fortus joined the band after former axe man Paul Tobias left Guns N' Roses in 2001. Tobias succeeded Slash, the band's most notable lead guitarist, who parted ways with the band in 1996. Fortus once played guitar for the Pyschedelic Furs and is also the current lead guitar player for The Dead Daisies.
The spread has two bedrooms and a bathroom, and it features lots of windows that provide the pad generous natural lighting and offer residents open views to scenes of the Lower East Side landscape, the New York Post reports. It also comes with a 5x13 private terrace and a high-end kitchen installed with pricey Viking, Wolf, Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances. The bathroom has a spa-like design and is highlighted by a soaking tub.
The talented musician purchased the apartment in 2003 for $350,000. According to an old article published by the New York Times, the apartment is one of Fortus' first possessions. "It's the first time I've ever owned anything."
Previously, Fortus and his then-girlfriend, model and photographer Jennifer Teichman, rented an apartment which Fortus described as "dark, dreary and tiny" and offered a view to a neighbor's apartment. Teichman shared that she felt violated in the place as she received catcalls after catcalls. At one point, she stopped wearing makeup and skirts.
Purchasing the apartment was a difficult task for Fortus and his lawyer, Jacob Goldman. Back then, people in the area are not keen on selling their homes and apartments to hardcore rock and roll musicians.
"Anyway, to get him in the building, we had to work against the stereotype of the rock and roll musician," Goldman said. "We had his former neighbors and his super write letters about what a nice quiet guy Richard is."
