On the last day of 2004, we named Fort Greene our neighborhood of the year?despite (or perhaps because of) reports of giant rats ruling its streets. A neighborhood denizen writes to update us on the situation:
As the landlord to the folks who sent you the report of the giant rats, I thought you might be interested in an update. First off, the rats weren't giant. They were regular-sized rats; the tenants are just young and inexperienced. Scary, granted, nonetheless.We just knew this neighborhood had promise!Second, the source of the rats?my next door neighbor on Lafayette Avenue?has sought to top himself in 2005. His uber-gut job has turned his building into nothing more substantial than a movie set facade?no floors, no back wall and no structural support. This despite having gotten a permit for only minor interior renovations. Meanwhile, we've been forced to install metal plates on our walls to keep the rats from getting back into our tenants' apartment.
So, here's to Fort Greene and Lafayette Avenue in '05. Maybe some Curbed reader will buy the (hopefully) liened and throttled property out from under his (with any luck) bankrupt ass and restore to its former glory (it was a crack house in the 1980s)!
· Fort Greene's Rat Attack [Curbed]