"Abandoned Rathole" Not Free After All

Remember that free building in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens? Unsurprisingly, the whole thing was a prank. Reportedly a local resident was fed up with the rundown building (located at 205 Parkside Avenue) and decided to put up a sign and a Craigslist ad advertising it for free.

The prankster told the Daily News: "We want to see something positive happening with the building [not just a] festering rathole on what could be a lively thriving commercial strip."

The 80-year-old owner of the building, Moses Fried, was not happy with the prank, particularly because it included his name and phone number. He told the paper, "I didn't find it funny. It was crude. If I knew who did it, I would sue them. People were calling all day."

That person is definitely remaining anonymous, but says the goal was to irritate him; "My hope was frankly that he would get some calls, that it would kind of shame him... that he would actually sell it or do something with it." Fried says he's been waiting on paperwork before he can move forward with plans to renovate it into a 20-family residential building.