The Infamous ‘Rat Castle’ at 179 Ludlow Street Has Been Reactivated
This image has been archived or removed.
These days it seems like the old guard of long-stalled construction eyesores around the neighborhood are all coming back to life. Like the infamous rat castle at 179 Ludlow Street, rotting away before our very eyes since 2006. The leasing banner affixed to the sidewalk bridge last year was but one clue. Work on the seven-story tumor has officially restarted after prolonged dormancy and red tape.
Just check out the exterior – a new enclosed balcony situation is currently under construction. It’s the first real sign of progress since this bastard appeared in the Lower East Side skyline.
Nearly three years ago, current owner Michael Goldberg, whose company specializes in bailing out busted projects, received the go-ahead from the city to complete the building. His goal was two floors of commercial use totaling 2,880 square-feet, and five 2-BR condo units up above.
DOB permits suggest otherwise. It seems only the ground level will receive the commercial treatment, totaling 1,650 square-feet. That equates to six full-floor condos.
Meanwhile, an onsite rendering shows what the final product might look like. The Kleinmann Group is the architect:
This image has been archived or removed.
179 Ludlow was initially started by 2 Funny Guys in March 2006; bankruptcy followed three months later; first-timer Michelangelo Russo then took the reigns for $5.2 million but quickly followed in the footsteps of failure. Turns out, Russo entered the fray with capital funded by Michael Goldberg who makes a career of bailing out busted projects and turning them. Foreclosure followed in March 2010.
The “Rat Castle” nickname was coined by the Village Voice in 2008 due to the terrible infestation at the then-abandoned project.
Recent Stories
This Mott Street ATM Gouges with 17% Fee
Storefront ATMs are nothing new. In fact, their ubiquity was so pronounced that the city banned freestanding ones from sidewalks about a decade ago. Visitors to Chinatown or the Lower East Side unfamiliar with bank ATM locations when in need of cash might not realize the exorbitant fees some ATM operators are charging. For instance, […]
Bongos Taps into Orchard Street with ‘Gala Dinners’
The principals behind five-year-old Kind Regards on Ludlow Street – Michael Bray and Noble Harris – are together joining the party south of the Delancey Divide with a new hangout called Bongos. Bongos opened at 85 Orchard Street earlier this month – on the museum block – reactivating the storefront left vacant by An Choi two […]
Blockchain Company Anchors Sunshine Cinema Replacement Tower
The glassy office building that replaced the beloved Sunshine Cinema has its first tenant. And an anchor, at that. The arrival of San Francisco-based Solana Labs comes mere weeks after the sidewalk bridge outside 141 East Houston came down (thereby freeing Yonah Schimmel from bondage). Solana Labs, a blockchain company, reportedly signed a lease for […]
Man Shot and Killed on Q Train at Canal Street in Unprovoked Attack
A straphanger was shot and killed Sunday morning on a Q train just off the Manhattan Bridge in what investigators are calling an unprovoked attack. The 48-year-old victim, whose name is not released, was shot in the chest around 11:40am yesterday while riding a northbound Q train that was pulling into the Canal Street station, […]
Demolition Begins at Fire-Stricken Dim Sum Palace Building in Chinatown
Demolition started this week at 6 Chatham Square, which, until this month, housed neighborhood favorite Dim Sum Palace. Early morning May 1, a fire in the kitchen spread throughout the building, triggering a five-alarm response from the fire department. All told, five firefighters were injured battling the inferno over several hours. And according to Red […]
