Tay’s bad blood
Tribeca neighbors slam Swift ft
Tribeca residents better be nice, or Taylor Swift might write a vindictive song about them.
As The Post recently revealed, the singer has been building up her downtown real estate collection, adding a $9.75 million apartment at 155 Franklin St. — the address where she already owns an 8,000-square-foot penthouse duplex created from two units. And this past fall, it was reported she purchased a three-story townhouse next door, at 153 Franklin, for $18 million. Total worth of her block domination: a cool $47.7 million.
But not all of Swift’s neighbors in Tribeca — home to the city’s most expensive ZIP codes — are happy for her.
“We don’t need celebrities here that will draw the focus of the paparazzi or extra fan attention. There’s already a small swarm of teenage girls lurking and swooning outside” Swift’s home regularly, said an entrepreneur who lives in the neighborhood. “Yes, we have celebrities living here — but we like not having conspicuous celebrities here. That’s why we live in Tribeca. Because the flashier famous people are clustered in neighborhoods like the West Village.”
Days after it was reported in November that Swift had purchased 153, someone posted a flier reading “Taylor Swift Can Go F--k Herself” to a Tribeca lamppost.
Meanwhile, the singer has created waves among brokers, too. Real estate firm Douglas Elliman is suing her for unpaid commissions of $1.6 million related to the townhouse sale.
There’s also a troubling history to her townhouse: It’s where disgraced ex-International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn hid out after allegedly assaulting a hotel maid in 2011 (the charges were later dropped). Although no work has been reported since Swift purchased the property, neighbors are worried she might begin a largescale construction project to combine units from the two buildings — just as she combined two apartments to create her 155 duplex.
“People are concerned. Everyone’s wondering what she’ll do — if she will connect the buildings for the garage access [as the townhouse has its own garage with a private entrance] or make a massive compound,” said a resident who lives nearby and who, like the entrepreneur, asked that The Post withhold her name for fear of angering Swift. “There was speculation on what she needs the new townhouse and second unit for. Some think [the townhouse] is for parking!”
(A spokesperson for the singer did not return calls seeking comment.)
“Franklin Street has a history of being an apocalypse of construction,” said the entrepreneur. “When even one lane is blocked off it can an cause chaos.”
A commenter onn the Tribeca Citizenn Web site wrote of how Swift’s presence already inconveniences residents of 155 Franklin: “There’s one el-evator and if she’se’s coming or going,ng, [her] bodyguardsards won’t let anyone getet in. They’ll hold the elevatorlevator on the top floor for 30 [minutes]inutes] waiting for her.”
A Swift insider insisted,nsisted, “It’s not that she’s a bad neighborghbor —— but the paparazzi loitering outside really is a problem.”
The insider addedd that Swift had a tough time finding co-op boards and buildings that wouldld sell to her, given the baggage that comesomes with her level of fame. “People aren’t thrilled that she’s down there, butut it comes with the territory. Tribeca is filled with two types of people: olderder people with a lot of money who wantt to be left alone and young, cool people whowho don’t care that she’s there.”
Count Alice + Olivia fashion de-designer Stacey Bendetdet Eisner among those in the latter camp. “I don’t see why it’s bad,” she saidid of Swift’s block dominance. “Taylorr is an incredibly successful woman who does great things for children. We should be proud to have her ass a neighbor.”
Everyone’s wondering what she’ll do — if she will connect the buildings or make a massive compound. — Tribeca neighbor of Taylor Swift