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By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK | Fri Aug 5, 2011 4:18pm EDT

(Reuters) - Apparently, his rent is too damn low.

Jimmy McMillan, the 2010 New York gubernatorial candidate who founded the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, says his landlord is trying to kick him out of his rent-controlled apartment in the trendy East Village of Manhattan in order to raise the rent.

The landlord has filed court papers to evict him, claiming McMillan's primary residence is in Brooklyn, not Manhattan, and thus he should not continue to benefit from rent control, McMillan said.

"It's a baseless case," said the loquacious activist, whose white mustache-and-sideburns combination, black gloves and memorable soundbites during election debates last year made him a celebrity in New York.

"That's my apartment. If I live there one day out of the year, that's my business. If I stick my butt in the door and break wind, if I stick my face in the window and belch, it's none of your business."

McMillan claims the Brooklyn address serves as his party headquarters and that the St. Mark's Place apartment in dispute remains his residence. His son, who is unemployed, continues to live there, he said.

The landlord of the building could not be reached for comment.

McMillan said he has rented the apartment since the 1970s and now pays a monthly rent of $872.96, though his last three rent checks have been sent back.

He said he has instructed his attorney, whose name he could not remember offhand, to file a counter-claim against the landlord.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jerry Norton)