Exclusive: Harlem leaders get a first look inside the high-end apartment building turned homeless shelter

NEW YORK — CBS New York’s John Dias has an exclusive look inside a previously planned high-end apartment building in Harlem that is now being turned into a homeless shelter.

We’re also hearing from the former owner for the first time.

It’s been the center of attention in Central Harlem — 2201 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. — and in an exclusive interview, the former owner told Dias how it became vacant more than a decade ago.

“The building was 90 percent complete and that the builder defaulted,” the former owner said.

He says he then fired the builder, who retaliated by putting liens on the high-end complex, which even has a pool on the roof. It resulted in a default on the construction loan, and he says the building was auctioned off.

“A $50 million building for $410,000,” the former owner said.

But he has no idea how another owner acquired the building years later and started to work with the city to turn it into a homeless shelter.

“It’s a cloudy title, so that’s why they’re not able to rent the building out, because they can’t because they don’t have a certificate of occupancy,” he said.

A Department of Social Services spokesperson says it will “serve as high-quality transitional housing for long-term New York City families,” but neighbors say they want permanent affordable or low-income housing for Harlem residents.

“We need you to come together with the community and we need to make a decision for the space together,” said Tiffany Fulton, of Silent Voices United Inc.

Thursday, Fulton and other leaders got a look inside the building for the first time.

Exclusive photos show a once-luxury Harlem apartment building, which had 35 units, converted into 54 with bunk beds all over. CBS New York

Exclusive photos show the once-luxury building, which had 35 units, converted into 54 with bunk beds all over. Neighbors say construction was done secretly.

“I’m walking out of here feeling like there’s a lot of shenanigans going on in Harlem,” Fulton said.

“They converted apartment units in there and nobody saw the construction activity taking place, so that’s a little strange,” District Leader William Allen said.

Residents say their fight is far from over and a community rally is scheduled for this Saturday, seeking more transparency from the city.