HOLED UP: Strauss-Kahn is on the move yesterday (above) to his TriBeCa home, and its plush living room, after finally finding someone who’d put out the welcome mat. (WIREIMAGE)
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The Upper East Side rejected him, and he quickly wore out his welcome downtown, but yesterday, Parisian pariah Dominique Strauss-Kahn finally landed a posh pad in TriBeCa.
The uber-luxury, $50,000-a-month townhouse at 153 Franklin St. — replete with a home theater, gym, spa, bar and rec rooms — is where the former head of the International Monetary Fund will sit out his house arrest as he awaits trial on charges he sexually assaulted and attempted to rape a Midtown hotel maid.
The silver-haired French Lothario, who just a week ago was on suicide watch in a tiny isolation cell at Rikers Island, moved last night into a three-story, 6,800-square-foot townhouse — just steps from the Robert De Niro-owned sushi hot spot Nobu — that was secured by his heiress wife, Anne Sinclair.
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At about 7:25 p.m., Strauss-Kahn was escorted out of 71 Broadway, where he spent five days with a GPS-enabled ankle bracelet and court-ordered armed guards to ensure he does not flee.
Two members of the security team, which Strauss-Kahn must pay himself, escorted the frisky Frenchman into a waiting Lexus SUV, which sped down Broadway.
Wearing a dark suit and open shirt collar, Strauss-Kahn flashed a wry smirk at onlookers. He was not handcuffed.
Minutes later, he arrived at the posh Franklin Street townhouse, where police had cleared the entrance. That didn’t stop a female passerby from shouting, “Pig” at the Pepe Le Pew-like groper. He sneered at her before entering his new home away from home.
His wife, whose father and grandfather made their fortune dealing Picassos and other classic works, was already waiting inside, having arrived about two hours earlier. The house, which was once listed by its owner for $14 million, is the most expensive rental in TriBeCa, sources said.
The 27-foot-wide space in one of New York’s trendiest neighborhoods has attracted A-list actors and athletes as possible tenants, including Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez, who eyeballed it earlier this year.
With four bedrooms and five full baths, there will be plenty of living space for Strauss-Kahn.
Located on a cobblestone street between Varick and Hudson, the home was built in 1915 but recently renovated by noted architect and designer Leopoldo Rosati.
It features a state-of-the-art Boffi kitchen with high-end Miele and Gaggenau appliances.
The man derided by critics as a member of “the Caviar Left” for his expensive tastes despite his Socialist politics should feel right at home surrounded by the best furnishings and electronics money can buy.
The townhouse also has a “nanny suite” where he could house his guards. The first floor features a “great room” with a skylight and fireplace, perfect for pre-trial strategy sessions with his lawyers, and limestone “radiant heat” floors, according to the broker’s description
The second floor has antique French wide-plank oak floors, an Italian limestone bath with a Duravit jet tub and waterfall shower — for relaxing after a hard day dueling with the prosecutors who want to lock him up in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The third-floor master suite has another bar, and the entire edifice has hand-crafted Italian cabinetry, stainless steel staircases and an audio system.
If he weren’t under 24-hour home confinement, the jet-setting horndog could hang with TriBeCa neighbors Jay-Z, Harvey Keitel, Ed Burns and wife Christy Turlington.
And if they don’t feel like cooking, Strauss-Kahn and his wife can still order up mouth-watering takeout from nearby foodie hotspots such as Tribeca Grill, Le Burger Plein Sud or from Nobu Next Door.
Last night, Strauss-Kahn and his wife dined on steaks and salads from nearby Landmarc. The bill came to a whopping $242.79, and his daughter, Camille, signed for it and gave the deliveryman a $25 tip.
Court spokesman David Bookstaver said the move had been approved.
The TriBeCa manse was not Strauss-Kahn’s first choice, as several property owners wanted no part of the man accused of attacking a 32-year-old West African maid at the Sofitel hotel.
His new neighbors were not thrilled to hear the news last night. “This is going to be awful,” grumbled Jen Cecero. “We don’t need this. They should send him back to jail.”
Additional reporting
by Jessica Simeone, C.J. Sullivan
and Andy Soltis