UN-NEIGHBORLY: The note gives a rebuke to neighbors who mocked the see-through contraption. (Paul Martinka)
A New York Times real estate writer who once encouraged readers to spy on neighbors wants her own to quit being so nosy — after they began gossiping about her risqué all-glass balcony shower.
Writer Julie Scelfo, 39, had the outdoor shower built on the rear of her $2.1 million townhouse on Tompkins Place and Kane Street, where neighbors spotted it, snapped photos then sent it to media outlets claiming the shower is inappropriate.
Scelfo — who penned an article noting nosy neighbors build a “sense of community” in 2009 — now apparently takes it back.
She has since slapped a note on the shower asking neighbors to back off.
It claims she and lawyer husband, James Cavoli, 46, are still constructing the shower and plan to build a privacy cover.
“We look forward to a day when we know our neighbors well enough to discuss any concerns over coffee and not in newspapers or gossip sites on the internet,” she wrote.
But one neighbor said she thinks Scelfo secretly likes the attention.
“I remember [Scelfo] saying, ‘Is everyone talking about us? Are they all talking about us?’ And I think they like it,” the neighbor said.
“They gutted the house. I just think they like the attention. They’re getting exactly what they want,” the neighbor said.
The shower, which is now under construction, is visible from several neighbors home from the rear side of the building.
Scelfo’s 2009 article is titled “Window Watchers in a city of Strangers.”