NEW YORK (AP) — Georgia’s former president is spending his self-imposed exile in one of New York City’s hippest neighborhoods.

The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/1saC5ih ) reports Saturday that Mikhail Saakashvili passes the days in the borough of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.

The neighborhood along the East River boasts beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline and is home to dozens of cafes, trendy restaurants and moneyed hipsters.

Saakashvili says he takes the subway, rides his bicycle and visits street flea markets.

Saakashvili led Georgia during its five-day war with Russia in 2008. Initially, he was heralded for instituting liberal reforms.

He now faces charges of illegally breaking up a protest, taking over a television station and seizing the property of a businessman.

Saakashvili tells The Times those charges are politically motivated.

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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

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