From the Daily News:
It appears to be the first time a faltering upscale building has found a new purpose as a shelter, said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. Neighbors were furious the 67-unit building on East New York Ave., where apartments were supposed to sell for $250,000 to $350,000, has been turned into a shelter. “I’m a hardworking taxpayer, and I don’t think homeless people should be living better than me,” fumed Desmond John, 35, a window salesman who wanted to rent one of the fancy apartments. “They said it’s not for rent. It’s a shelter. I was shocked.” Luxury brokerage firm HQ Marketing Partners started promoting the condos last summer – with the hook that buyers could custom design the units. When the market started to tank in the fall – and his gamble on a fringe neighborhood didn’t pay off – developer Avi Shriki said he had to come up with a Plan B. “When the market went south, we knew we had to do something different,” said Shriki, 44. “With the market being the way it is you have to be creative.” This spring, Shriki signed a 10-year contract with the Bushwick Economic Development Group to turn the building into a homeless shelter.
Nice (hint: sarcasm).
