After years of not being able to find a buyer for her Saddle River mansion, Rosie O’Donnell finally caved and sold her home at a loss, The Post has learned.
But the home’s next residents are already causing a stir in the tony neighborhood, home to the rich and famous, from rapper Ja Rule to singer Mary J. Blige.
The six-bedroom, nine-bathroom abode is expected to be demolished and turned into a series of affordable housing units per a landmark public court settlement with Fair Share Housing Center.
But the agreement has left its upscale residents outraged.
According to an unnamed source who lives in the area and was familiar with the proceedings, the borough had plans to comply with the affordable housing requirements in Saddle River. The requirements usually include sites that are 100% affordable.
However, in this case, local developers Saddle River Investors intervened, court docs show.
And their intervention only “added insult to injury,” the source said.
As part of a fair housing court settlement between the borough of Saddle River and the Fair Share Housing Center of NJ, the 5-acre lot that belonged to O’Donnell will be converted into 60 units — of which only 20% will be used for affordable housing.
Essentially, the source said, “the developer plans to segregate the units, instead of integrating them with the high density multi-family housing.” While there is no legal requirement that the units be integrated, residents say the current plan doesn’t sit well with them. Saddle River Investors has declined to comment on the matter.
The insider explained that of the 60 units in the plan, “only eight are set for low and moderate income and the developer will stick the eight units in the back corner of the property instead of integrating, so everyone will know these are the homes saved for the poor.”
The controversy calls to mind similar issues over affordable housing, such as the so-called “poor door” at the upscale Lincoln Square Tower in Manhattan.