A New York City fitness model says her Midtown landlord tried to push her out of her apartment after a former friend turned stalker mailed explicit photos of her to roughly 400 of her neighbors. Samantha Skolkin, who has more than half a million Instagram followers, filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming the Ritz Plaza refused to renew her lease and locked her out of its rent-payment portal despite her status as a stalking victim.
According to the New York Post, which first reported on the lawsuit, Skolkin's former photographer and self-described best friend, Steward Noack, tormented her for a year after she rejected him, per the lawsuit. Skolkin met Noack more than a decade ago, and the two had a working and personal relationship before things allegedly turned dark. The suit claims Noack sexually assaulted Skolkin twice by touching her without consent, and that she cut him off both personally and professionally after the second alleged assault. Skolkin did not report the alleged assaults to police, according to the filing.
Skolkin, who is described in the lawsuit as a New York City fitness model and former professional bodybuilder, said Noack's behavior changed abruptly before the alleged assaults. “He started acting really jealous and f—king bizarre,” she said. A few months after she cut ties with him, Noack allegedly began terrorizing her, per the lawsuit.
A Campaign of Harassment That Reached Hundreds of Neighbors
Court filings describe a mailing campaign in which Noack allegedly sent intimate photos showing Skolkin engaged in sexual activity to unsuspecting recipients, per the August 1 complaint. Investigators say Noack mailed explicit OnlyFans photos of Skolkin to her parents and about 400 residents at the Ritz Plaza. He also allegedly sent her parents silver gift boxes containing explicit photos and ski masks covered with a substance resembling semen, and made Christmas cards containing graphic photos alongside posters promoting Skolkin's OnlyFans account.
The lawsuit further alleges Noack impersonated Skolkin, her relatives, building management, and Amazon on envelopes and packages to disguise the mailings. Investigators say he was recorded mailing packages from a Manhattan U.S. Postal Service office at least three times, and that he wore hoodies, masks, and latex gloves while doing so in Manhattan. Police say Noack was arrested and charged in 2024 with unlawful publication of intimate images, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, dissemination of unlawful surveillance images, and stalking. He received an order of protection at his arraignment on December 31, 2024, and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in March 2025, per the article.
Landlord Accused of Locking Out a Stalking Victim
Rather than offering support, Skolkin's landlord allegedly turned against her. The Ritz Plaza locked Skolkin out of its rent-payment portal, the lawsuit claims, but she continued trying to pay rent by sending checks directly to building managers. The Ritz Plaza filed an eviction notice in July and refused to renew her lease, according to the suit, which alleges the building is evicting her despite her status as a stalking victim.
Skolkin's attorney, Fred Lichtmacher, argued in the filing that the eviction violates city and state laws protecting victims of sex offenses and stalking. Those protections are rooted in the New York City Human Rights Law, expanded in 2016, which makes it illegal for residential landlords to discriminate against, harass, or evict tenants based on their status as victims of domestic violence, sex offenses, or stalking, according to the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The commission has administrative authority to investigate victim-status housing discrimination complaints and can impose civil penalties or order corrective action against landlords found in violation, separate from any civil lawsuit.
State law adds additional layers of protection. Under New York Real Property Law § 227-c, tenants who are victims of domestic violence or stalking and hold protective orders can terminate leases early without penalty, provided their rent payments remain current, according to DocDraft. Separately, New York Real Property Law § 226-c requires landlords to give tenants who have lived in an apartment for more than two years at least 90 days' advance written notice before declining to renew a lease. And under New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 768, it is both a criminal misdemeanor and a civil violation for landlords to attempt unlawful evictions by locking tenants out or interfering with their occupancy without going through the courts.
Building Ownership and Landlord's Response
The Ritz Plaza, at 235 West 48th Street, is a 45-story, 479-unit rental tower owned by CS Ritz Residences LLC and managed by Stonehenge NYC. The Real Deal has reported that Stonehenge and private equity firm The Carlyle Group formed a joint venture in 2019, with Carlyle acquiring a two-thirds stake in the building for $251 million; Stonehenge had originally purchased the tower for $77 million in 1996. StreetEasy listings show one-bedroom apartments in the building have carried base rents ranging from $4,725 to $6,010 per month as of November 2025, and the lawsuit itself describes one-bedrooms at the Ritz Plaza costing more than $5,400 per month.
A spokesperson for the Ritz Plaza pushed back on the allegations, saying the lawsuit lacks any factual basis and is entirely without merit. The building has not detailed what it disputes about Skolkin's account of the lockout or non-renewal.
Survivor Hopes Case Raises Awareness
Skolkin, who was named NYC's Hottest Personal Trainer in 2015 and later earned IFBB Bikini Pro status by winning her division at the 2016 NPC National Championships, said the ordeal has been devastating. “It was the worst thing that's ever happened to me,” she said. She has said she wants to raise awareness and protect other women from similar experiences.
Federal housing data cited by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development indicates that roughly 1 in 6 U.S. women experience stalking in their lifetime, with victim status frequently intersecting with housing instability and landlord disputes. Noack, who ran House of Indulgence Photography studio in Queens and had built a career photographing alternative and gothic media since at least 2008, has not publicly responded to the civil allegations detailed in the lawsuit.
