Frederick Rudd, prominent Manhattan real estate developer, dies at age 70

Frederick “Fred” J. Rudd, a prominent Manhattan real estate developer and founder of Rudd Realty Management, died Wednesday at the age of 70 from complications of heart disease, confirmed his stepson and business partner Josh Greenberg.

Rudd was the son of New York City developer Philip Rudd and was familiar with the business from an early age. In 1984, he founded his own company, Rudd Realty. The company has acquired and managed co-op, owner-occupied, rental, mixed-use and commercial properties throughout the city for four decades.

In Rudd’s obituary, he was described as a pioneer in property management.

“He managed some of the city’s most prestigious buildings and took great pride in being their steward and preserving their importance to the New York skyline,” it said.

Rudd has made major real estate deals throughout his career. His company sold a Midtown development site at 118 East 59th Street to Hong Kong-based Euro Properties in 2013.

Notable locations from previous deals include 90 Bedford Street, known from the popular sitcom “Friends,” which Rudd Realty sold for $18.25 million in January. Rudd and his wife, Kim Greenberg, also paid $15 million for Ghislaine Maxwell’s former Lenox Hill townhouse in 2016 and sold the Upper East Side property for $16 million in 2022.

Rudd’s career has not been without controversy. In a 2017 lawsuit filed against his company, it was accused of illegally deregulating rent control in a West Village apartment building. Rudd eventually agreed to restore rent control to the apartments and pay out overpaid residents.

Rudd Realty still owns this West Village building, along with 14 other residential and commercial properties spread across some of Manhattan’s most desirable neighborhoods. The company also manages about 70 buildings, primarily co-op and condominium buildings, for third parties. This group includes several prestigious locations in Central Park West, such as 55 Central Park West, also known as “The Ghostbusters Building.” Rudd Realty’s retail tenants at 543-555 Amsterdam Avenue also include the famous Barney Greengrass deli.

Rudd and Kim Greenberg made headlines on Long Island in 2007 when they bought the Upper Brookville mansion of the notorious Michael Pescatore for $8.3 million at auction. Pescatore had been convicted of running what was then the largest auto repair shop on the East Coast.

Rudd was very involved in his church, Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the Upper West Side, according to Josh Greenberg, and regularly wrote articles about property management for Habitat magazine. Josh Greenberg told TRD that Rudd Realty will continue to operate and serve its clients and properties.

The story goes on

“I am his business partner in many properties in the city that we have managed together for years, and I grew up under his tutelage,” Josh Greenberg wrote in an email. “I plan to keep his legacy alive.”

A service for Rudd will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, June 24, at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 West 83rd Street.

This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.