It’s raking – or Rikers.
That’s a Manhattan judge’s ultimatum to kooky crooner Boy George, who wants to sew, sing and powder-puff his way out of the five days’ community serv ice he was sentenced to in March upon the dismissal of felony cocaine-possession charges.
Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara hit the roof upon learning that the 44-year-old androgynous pop dinosaur hoped to avoid the humiliation of dragging a rake around a city park by instead working for a West Side AIDS charity. There, Boy George had hoped to wile away his sentence by, among other duties, giving makeup tips and joining in the women’s sewing circle.
If the singer, designer and DJ is forced to clean parks or streets, “We believe it will turn into a circus,” defense lawyer Lou Freeman told the judge during a hearing yesterday, at which Boy George was a no-show.
“The media will be following him every day, though I guess they’d be a little tired of him by the third day.”
That’s when Ferrara started shouting.
“So he’d write and produce a song for a public-service announcement? DJ for a benefit concert? Hold a special class on makeup? Do you really think that’s punishment?” the judge thundered. “To be a DJ?”
The judge ordered Boy George, real name George O’Dowd, to appear in court on June 26. He’ll be risking prison if he hasn’t signed up for community service by then and paid his $1,600 in fines and surcharges, the judge warned.
“Pay the fine! Pay the surcharge! Go to the community-service office and talk to them! In most of the cases where no community service has been served, my response is to offer them time in Rikers Island,” the judge railed.
The Culture Club creature first got in hot water back in October, when he summoned cops to his Centre Street apartment and told them it had been burglarized, when it hadn’t. The cops then found 13 small bags of cocaine by his computer.
Last March, he was allowed to take a no-jail plea on a misdemeanor charge of falsely reporting an incident.
Officials at SMART, the West 38th Street AIDS charity where Boy George had hoped to work, said they were disappointed that the judge trivialized the community-service value of their makeup, sewing, music and other programs.
Working with the performer would greatly inspire transgendered youth whose lives have been impacted by AIDS, said Jonathan Bee, the group’s youth coordinator.
“To have Boy George picking up garbage is really a waste,” Bee said.