Shook the Spot

American cities have mulled many creative options in the perpetual fight against homelessness—nay, the homeless. New York City tried putting them all on a boat. Boston tried just making it illegal to not have a home. But Scarsdale has found the most effective solution yet: crush them under the weight of fallen trees . . .

SCARSDALE — The spot he picked for shelter — under a sprawling tree on the grounds of a Colonial-style mansion — was as improbable as it was ineffective.

And after winter's cold killed the 57-year-old drifter, a freak coincidence sent the 100-foot oak toppling over his body during last month's windstorm.

Inside the house at 5 Sherbrooke Road, aging philanthropists Ira and Miriam Wallach were unaware a dead man lay decomposing on their estate until a worker found the man's legs sticking out from under the tree while clearing debris Wednesday.

The man was identified yesterday as Malcolm Pyong Mu Kim . . .

What police do know about Kim isn't much: He's a 57-year-old transient from Korea who immigrated to the United States in the 1970s. His last address was a Korean church in Colorado, which provided him shelter. Before that, he stayed in California and Texas.

Scarsdale police learned he was arrested in Taylor County, Texas, on a trespass charge and used the set of fingerprints taken in that arrest to confirm his identity.

"What was he doing here?" asked Scarsdale police Lt. Bryant Clark. "I still have no idea."

Being homeless, probably. It's a horrible tale, and Scarsdale residents are understandably grieving over Kim's death . . .

"I've never seen a homeless person walking around here, not at least in Scarsdale proper," said Jamie Thaler, 38, a stay-at-home mom from Scarsdale who was shopping at Balducci's gourmet grocery store. "I'm a little disturbed now."

Me, too! (On the bright side, Balducci's is rocking the free samples hard these days. So delish.)