3 More Rat-Infested Harlem Lots Must Be Cleaned Up, City Says

HARLEM, NY — Three different empty lots across Central and north Harlem have become infested with rats and need to be cleaned up, the city said in a series of court filings.

The city's health department made the filings between last Thursday and Tuesday of this week, seeking access to the three properties: 321 West 136th St., 2902 Frederick Douglass Blvd., and 2737 Frederick Douglass Blvd.

All three lots have the same problem: rats. In three different inspections on July 26, sanitation inspectors found "active rodent signs, including gnawed plastic bags," according to the court filings.

The West 136th Street lot has sat empty since around 2018, when a two-story townhouse on the site was demolished. A five-story building was supposed to replace it, according to Department of Buildings records, but that development never materialized — and the former owners sold the lot for $3.5 million in 2017 to the current owners, New Jersey-based "West 136th Street Harlem LLC."

The northernmost property, at 2902 Frederick Douglass, sits just south of West 154th Street. Vacant since as far back as 2009, it may soon be transformed into a new seven-story building by developer NNRC Properties, as Patch previously reported.

The last lot, at 2737 Frederick Douglass, sits on the corner of West 146th Street, a short walk from Jackie Robinson Park. It has sat empty since at least 2009, according to Google Maps imagery.

Its current owners, Queens-based 2737 Trading LLC, acquired the lot in 2002 and never filed any plans to develop it, according to city records.

Photos of all three lots submitted by city inspectors show them strewn with garbage, including soda cans, coffee cups and the apparently-gnawed plastic bags. Since all three were fenced off with locked gates, the city has been unable to enter the lots and take any action to abate the infestation of rats — which pose a danger since they carry diseases and bite people, the city says.

The city sent letters last month to all three property owners requesting access to the empty lots, but have not received any permission, according to the court filings.

Manhattan Supreme Court justices approved all three of the city's requests for emergency access to clean up the properties, according to court records.

At least five prior rat cleanups have occurred in Harlem in recent months, including at an empty site on East 125th Street, a different lot on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and sites on East 103rd and 106th Streets.