Bloomberg: Homeless in Luxury Condos Temporary

CROWN HEIGHTS — Don’t get too comfortable!

That was Mayor Bloomberg’s message to dozens of lucky homeless families who scored a posh pad at a luxury condo that has been turned into a homeless shelter in Brooklyn.

“We’re not going to let people just sit there. This is a transition thing. We want to move them out,” Bloomberg said Friday. “And if they say, ‘Oh, I love this here, I don’t want to try something else,’ I’m sorry, that’s not the whole intent here.”

The Daily News reported Wednesday that a fancy condo on East New York Ave. in Crown Heights – complete with granite countertops, marble bathrooms, terraces and walk-in closets – has become homeless housing.

The swanky digs were originally slated to fetch up to $350,000. After the market tanked last year, the developer signed a contract with a non-profit group to turn the 67-unit building into shelter.

City officials said there is no limit on how long families can stay in the ritzy shelter – though they are encouraged to find homes as soon as possible. The city pays the Bushwick Economic Development Corp. its standard $90 a night per apartment – or $2,700 a month.

That amount also includes on-site services like job and housing counseling. Homeless mother-of-two Jesenia Tejada, 32, who lucked into a two-bed, two bath apartment in the luxury building this week, said she’d jump at the chance to move in for good.

“If they would rent it to me for $1,200 a month, I’d rent it no problem,” said Tejada, an Iraq War veteran, who was recently forced out of her previous Brooklyn apartment because of a fire.

“When I saw the place I felt like I was on a TV show. I thought this is crazy. It has marble counters and marble bathrooms, the floors are brand new.” Bloomberg said the deal shows how far the housing market has slipped in some neighborhoods.

“It tells you about the market,” he said.

“Somebody built the building. They couldn’t rent it. So they rented it to us for our standard thing.”