Frederick “Fred” J. Rudd, a prominent Manhattan real estate developer and founder of Rudd Realty Management, died of complications from heart disease on Wednesday at the age of 70, his stepson and business partner, Josh Greenberg, confirmed.
Rudd was the son of New York developer Philip Rudd and grew up immersed in the business. He founded his own firm, Rudd Realty, in 1984. The company has acquired and managed co-ops, condos, rentals, mixed-use and commercial properties across the city for four decades.
An obituary from Rudd’s family described him as a pioneer in property management.
“He managed some of the most prestigious buildings in the city and took great pride in being their stewards and preserving their importance to the New York City skyline,” it stated.
Throughout his career, Rudd facilitated major property deals. His company sold a Midtown development site 118 East 59th Street in 2013 to Hong Kong-based Euro Properties.
Notable locations of past deals include 90 Bedford Street, known from the popular sitcom “Friends,” which Rudd Realty sold in January for $18.25 million. 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 in 2022 for $16 million.
Rudd’s career was not without controversy. A 2017 lawsuit brought against his firm accused them of illegally deregulating rent-stabilized apartments at a West Village apartment building. Rudd ultimately agreed to re-regulate the apartments and reimburse overcharged residents. It was one of many buildings deregulated while receiving J-51 tax benefits, which courts eventually ruled was not allowed.
Rudd Realty still owns that West Village building, along with 14 other residential and commercial properties that dot some of Manhattan’s most coveted neighborhoods.
The firm also manages approximately 70 buildings, mostly co-ops and condos, for third parties. That cohort includes several prestigious Central Park West locations, including 55 Central Park West, also known as “The Ghostbusters Building.” Rudd Realty also counts the famous deli, Barney Greengrass, among its retail tenants at 543-555 Amsterdam Avenue.
Rudd and Kim Greenberg made local Long Island headlines in 2007 when they purchased the auctioned-off Upper Brookville mansion of the infamous Michael Pescatore — who was convicted for running what was then the largest automobile chop-shop on the East Coast — for $8.3 million.
Rudd, according to Josh Greenberg, was very involved at his temple, Congregation Rodeph Sholom on the Upper West Side, and a frequent contributor to Habitat magazine, writing articles on building management. Greenberg told The Real Deal that Rudd Realty will continue to operate, serving its clients and properties.
“I am his business partner on many properties in the city we’ve run together for years and I grew up under his tutelage,” he wrote in an email. “I intend on keeping his legacy alive.”
A service for Rudd will take place 11 a.m. Monday, June 24, at Congregation Rodeph Sholom at 7 West 83rd Street.