WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The city filed a lawsuit in July for an emergency clean-up of a rat-infested lot in Washington Heights that has sat empty since plans for a new building were never formulated after a church was demolished.

The lot in question does not have an official address, but is described by the city as adjacent to 202 Wadsworth Ave. and as the former location of 206 to 212 Wadsworth Ave. (between West 183rd and 184th Streets).

A recent report by an employee of the Department of Sanitation found that conditions of the lot are "conducive to rat harborage and/or rats exist on the subject premises."

On June 22, the DSNY employee found gnawed plastic bags, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that these conditions "compromise the public health, safety, and welfare."

The city has sent multiple letters to the lot's owner saying that it needed their consent to enter the lot and clean it, however, the owner has not responded as of July 12.

Thus, the city has filed a petition in the New York State Supreme Court to gain entry to the lot and properly clean it.

Here is what the Washington Heights vacant lot looks like from the outside.

In terms of the history of this address, it wasn't always a vacant lot.

The address has sat empty since 2015, but before that, it was actually home to a church.

The property was bought in 2015 by Caerus Group, which partnered at the time with an undisclosed university to build an eight-story dorm at the address. The three-story church was demolished soon thereafter, but the expected dorm never appeared.

Caerus Group did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

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