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They were clueless he was shoeless.
The family of the homeless man aided by a selfless cop in Times Square was shocked to find out yesterday that the shoeless vagrant making headlines was their relative.
His brother, Kirk Hillman, looked stunned as he saw a copy of The Post with his youngest brother on the front page — and was left speechless.
Hillman’s wife told The Post she followed the story on TV — but never recognized the bedraggled beggar as her own brother-in law, Jeffrey Hillman.
“The last time we heard from him was maybe a year ago on New Year’s Day,” said Tish Hillman, who lives with Kirk in Allentown, Pa., where they’re leaders at Greater Shiloh Church.
“Once a year, he calls us to let us know he’s OK.”
Jeffrey, 54, became a national figure after a photo of kindhearted NYPD Officer Larry DePrimo presenting him with a new pair of boots in Times Square went viral.
How Jeffrey — the brother of a college professor and a church administrator — wound up sitting shoeless on that cold sidewalk remains a mystery.
The Hillman boys — Kirk, Jeffrey and Alfred — grew up in South Plainfield, NJ.
While his brothers went on to college and professional careers — Alfred is an educator in Lancaster, Texas — Jeffrey bounced around Jersey, western Pennsylvania and New York.
Neither sibling hears much from Jeffrey, who has been indigent for years and was jobless as far back as the early 1980s.
“He was always finding trouble, he was a bit lost,” said a relative who asked her name not be used.
In 1993, he declared bankruptcy after a series of state tax liens in New Jersey. He ended up living in homeless shelters, most recently in Hell’s Kitchen and Harlem.
Over the past few days, not even those who would regularly see Jeffrey Hillman have spotted him.
“He is always moving,” a Hell’s Kitchen acquaintance said. “He doesn’t sit in doorways. He’s always walking, up and down — always in motion.”
He regularly comes in for a bottle of Barton vodka at a liquor store on Ninth Avenue, although he hasn’t been there lately, either.
His family says he’s always welcome in their homes.
“Jeffrey has his own life, and he has chosen that life, but he knows that our hearts and home are always open to him,” said Alegra Hall, Kirk Hillman’s daughter, a producer in Maryland. “He knows that, he’s well aware of that.”
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday said NYPD officials have not been in contact with Hillman since DePrimo’s generous gift.
“We’re not looking for him,” Kelly added. “He has shoes now. He’s much more difficult to spot.”
Additional reporting by Jeane MacIntosh