It’s in the heart of Greenwich Village, with 360-degree park views, ample space — and no rent!
Washington Square Park’s famed fountain has been turned into a private crash pad by a homeless man — who has been allowed to stay by a city administration afraid to tackle quality of life issues.
Matthew John Mishefski said he has been squatting at the drained New York landmark since May, in a makeshift home that now includes comforts such as a table, six chairs, a pink recliner, a box of clothes and a beach umbrella.
“It’s a representation of the altar to god,” the shirtless man said, referring to the concrete platform holding the fountain, which is cordoned off by metal barricades.
The 25-year-old’s presence in the park is well known to police — who arrested him at around 12:15 a.m. on June 13 after they say he refused to leave the park after hours.
He was hit with charges including criminal trespass and failure to comply with signs — and then released without bail, with his next court date set for Sept. 14.
Mishefski — who sometimes refers to himself as the “Son of God Lord Saviour Jesus Christ” — was soon back at the park.
Police claim they have been able to do nothing since — saying they have been begging the city to get him help.
“Obviously the commanding officer [of the local 6th Precinct] is aware with many 311 calls and community members reaching out,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “He has made numerous calls to Parks Department and several attempts to provide services. They are trying to get him help.”
But city officials claimed they are helpless if someone won’t accept their aid.
A spokesman for the city Department of Homeless Services said that outreach workers canvass the area four times a week to engage with the young man — but can’t convince him to leave.
“We remain undeterred and will keep coming back to build trust, make those breakthroughs, and help them get back on their feet,” said Isaac McGinn.
A Parks Department spokeswoman said only that: “Being homeless in a New York City park is not a crime.”
But “We are working sensitively to encourage this individual to comply with Parks rules,” the spokeswoman added, conceding that the rules prohibit erecting or maintaining a tent, shelter or camp.
It’s not clear exactly when the furniture first appeared — Mishefski wouldn’t say — but DHS suggested the items came from recent activity in the park, alluding to the George Floyd protests that began in May.
Reps for the Washington Square Park conservancy said it has been aware of the encampment since early June, and are in touch with the Parks Department and NYPD about it.
Parks said it is working to remove all of the elements from the fountain.
But one Parks employee at the Manhattan green space on Thursday didn’t appear to have any issues with the set-up.
“He’s peaceful, it just doesn’t look good,” the worker said.
The Parks Department also insisted Mishefski himself had only been there for a couple of weeks, and said he travels between city parks.
But Mishefski told The Post he has been living in the fountain since May.
“This is a spiritual zone,” added Mishefski, who is originally from Wyoming, Penn., but bounced from city to city before moving to the Big Apple in 2017.
He said he’d lived in and out of city shelters until November 2017 — but decided life was safer on the streets.
“People bring in knives, weapons, they say they’re going to hurt you if you say something they don’t like, if you look at them,” he said. “I had a staff member pull a knife on me.”
He said he suffers from autism and has been in and out of psych wards, including a five-week stay at Woodhull Hospital around September 2019.
Passersby said the outdoor accommodations were an eyesore.
“The city isn’t doing a lot of things. They should get people to move off the streets,” said Kyshia Anderson, 26, who was at the park with her 6-year-old son. “They don’t keep it too clean. They should have removed that stuff from the fountain.”
The city — including ThriveNYC, the $1 billion mental health initiative started by Mayor de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray — has come under fire for failing to reach out to those most in need of help.
Hizzoner pledged more homeless outreach after a vagrant killed four other street people in Chinatown in October — but critics have said the whole system needs an overhaul.
Additional reporting by Lia Eustachewich and Elizabeth Rosner