Metro

NY builds judges po$h legal ‘pads’

ALBANY — Despite crippling budget cuts, the state will spend tens of millions of dollars to leave a light on for its top judges in Albany.

The Court of Appeals has quietly built a suite of seven posh apartments for the jurists’ personal use — a de facto Judges Hotel — and declared the secret enclave of luxury domiciles off-limits to public inspection, The Post has learned.

The seven crash pads are reserved only for appointees to the state’s highest court — who spend a paltry 66 days per year in Albany.

And in a true slap to the taxpayer’s face, a couple of the condos will remain vacant because two of the current judges residing outside Albany live within minutes of the capital.

The hush-hush digs sit in the shadow of the high court, atop a 113-year-old Romanesque Revival building being lavishly restored by the judges for a jaw-dropping $23 million.

The Office of Court Administration showed little regard for the state’s fiscal woes as it plowed ahead with the judges’ “secure residence.”

In fact, agency correspondence reveals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman requested $1 million in upgrades last fall — including cherrywood furniture and marble tile for the judges — only to retreat after the state comptroller questioned such amenities “at a time of unprecedented financial hardship.”

The court ultimately shelved plans for a $400,000 “museum” and canceled refrigerators and microwaves for the judicial hotel rooms, but kept the Carrera marble — with a $49,115 price tag — and much of the cherry furniture, costing $368,800.

The 27,000-square-foot building sat vacant for years before the county gave it to the state in 2007.

Its restoration will also give the 30-person Law Reporting Bureau some of the most magnificent office space in Albany.

The Post observed hardwood-framed porthole windows, stained-glass skylights and a domed ceiling adorned with a newly painted mural of the Zodiac during a limited tour last week.

The Court of Appeals, however, citing “security concerns,” refused to let the newspaper photograph — or even see — the seven 400-square-foot hotel rooms being prepared for the judges.

The judges’ current practice of staying at local hotels is “the opposite of a secure situation,” said Court of Appeals spokesman Gary Spencer. He refused to detail any threats against the judges.

It costs about $34,000 annually to house the judges in local hotels during the 66 days the court is in session, factoring for a state reimbursement rate of $104 and the fact that two judges already live locally.

That, with the $240,000 the Law Reporting Bureau will save on its current lease, means the building should pay for itself — sometime around 2095.

The Legislature approved the renovations to the long-vacant building in 2007. Construction began after August 2009.

Last week, Cuomo scolded Lippman for submitting a budget that raised court spending by $84 million, to $2.6 billion, despite his calls for a 10-percent spending cut — which the chief administrative judge said would “close courts.”

Ronald Younkins, the court’s chief of operations, said that the state actually saved by starting the project while construction costs were low and argued stopping midstream would save nothing.

“It was done at a different time, different considerations,” Younkins said. “At this point there’s no benefit financially to stopping the project.”

Another solution was offered by E.J. McMahon, a fiscal policy analyst for the business-backed Manhattan Institute.

“I would sell it to the highest bidder, which won’t get you get $23 million, and take the remainder out of the judges’ budget,” McMahon said. “To say this thing looks bad is the understatement of the year.”

Be our guest

These five judges live far enough from Albany to qualify to stay in the seven luxury apartments provided by the state during their 66-day annual session:

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman

Residence: New York City
Miles from Albany: 150
Est. drive time: 3.5 hours

Eugene F. Pigott Jr.

Residence: Grand Island
Miles from Albany: 290
Est. drive time: 5 hours

Theodore T. Jones

Residence: New City
Miles from Albany: 120
Est. drive time: 2.5 hours

Robert S. Smith

Residence: New York City
Miles from Albany: 150
Est. drive time: 3.5 hours

Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick

Residence: New York City
Miles from Albany: 150
Est. drive time: 3.5 hours