Residents of Englewood, NJ, had already rejected his plan to stay at a home the Libyan Mission owns there, so diplomats approached Haber about the swank rental pad he was peddling at 5 E. 78th St.

"They were very rude on the phone, and I asked who it was for. They said it was for a high-ranking member of the Libyan delegation, and they said there would be high security," he said.

"It sounded more and more to me as we spoke that this was for Khadafy."

But while only one of the building's three apartments was on the block -- a 3,700-square-foot duplex for $28,000 a month -- the Libyans insisted on renting the whole building.

"At that point, I knew the deal couldn't happen, so I was hoping maybe I could solve an international political situation through a simple real-estate deal -- but I guess it wasn't meant to be," he said.

Following that rejection, the Libyans finally settled on housing their leader at the country's East 48th Street mission.

“I know they are a member nation of the UN, so they get whatever limited rights to come and stay here, but for us living here we have the right to say no, given world events going on right now,” Haber said.

lukas.alpert@nypost.com