The luxury ghost tower in the heart of NYC struggling to find residents despite breathtaking views

Brooklyn's first supertall building is struggling to attract buyers and renters, with its luxury apartments largely left empty since it opened to residents last year. 

Despite sporting stunning 360-degree views of New York City while being described by locals as 'badass', 'powerful' and 'sexy', Brooklyn Tower is a ghost town inside. 

‘Apart from the doorman, I literally don’t see anyone ever,' 15th-floor studio resident Perri Feinstein, 35, told DailyMail.com. 

Located at 55 Fleet Street in downtown BK, the imposing edifice is the borough's debut supertall tower - a skyscraper of more than 300 meters in height.

The neo-Gothic structure rises from a shimmering, copper-colored base into a jagged, jet-black apex through 93 stories of stone, bronze, and stainless steel fluting. 

Thanks to its sharp, dark exterior which pierces the skyline above Fort Greene Park, the menacing 325-meter tall monolith is often likened to Sauron's Tower from the Lord of the Rings movie franchise. 

Despite boasting premium hotel-style amenities including a sun-soaked pool deck, ritzy fitness center, and the Western Hemisphere's highest basketball court on the 66th floor, only 19 of the 143 condos have sold so far. 

Compass One broker Ryan Garson said developers are eyeing the tower as a pilot for the first ultra-lux residential skyscraper to launch across the East River from Manhattan. 

‘Brooklyn Tower came to the market as a prestigious Billionaire’s Row kind of building that commanded a high price but with less square footage,' Garson told DailyMail.com. ‘It does have a FiDi feel to it’. 

‘It's an outlier in the neighborhood in terms of price and quality,' he added. 'Downtown Brooklyn is still emerging - there aren’t many other condos like this in the area.' 

Along with its height, the tower set another record for the Brooklyn real estate landscape in March 2024 when a studio apartment sold for $905,000, making it the most expensive studio sale on a price-per-square-foot basis in the borough. 

Current prices range from almost $1 million for a studio to $8 million for a multi-bed apartment in the tower. Garson said this marks a 10 percent reduction in market value since the building opened to residents at the start of last year. 

The markdown came after a foreclosure deal on the high-rise last summer, when Silverstein Capital Partners acquired it from JDS Development in a $672 million deal. 

It appears the management tumult delayed the opening of amenities - which Feinstein said still aren't accessible. 

Feinstein, who has lived in the Big Apple for just over a decade, moved from a pre-war walk-up in the Upper East Side to her studio in the Brooklyn Tower last summer. 

The physical therapist told DailyMail.com she snagged the 15th-floor luxury condo for $2,630-per-month through the New York Housing Lottery last year. 

Brooklyn Tower's developers secured tax breaks through New York state's since-terminated program which allowed the subsidy in exchange for 20 percent of the building's units being ringfenced for 'affordable housing'. 

‘The building is so clean and the interiors are so modern and chic. The people are superb. It’s a really cool living space,' Feinstein said. 

‘I literally don’t see anyone, like ever. It’s kind of nice. It’s not like I have to deal with noisy next-door neighbors.

‘I have a nice view looking out over Fort Greene, and I get really really good sunlight with the floor-to-ceiling windows,' she added.

‘Probably one of my favorite features is the bathroom, it feels like a luxury hotel. It has a beautiful walk-in shower.’

'But none of the amenities have opened yet,' Feinstein continued. 

'I’m living in a luxury building, but there’s no fitness center, there’s no outside spaces, no common rooms. 

'Come summer, it will definitely be a little disappointing if there’s no outdoor escape.’

The building's unique exterior may also be off-putting for Brooklyn locals who are more accustomed to family-style apartment shares and brownstone living. 

Gregg Pasquarelli, one of the principal architects at SHoP which designed the building, has called the tower the 'badass' 'Empire State building of Brooklyn'. 

‘It’s definitely a cool thing to say, I live in Brooklyn’s tallest building,' Feinstein said.  

‘I think the building is sexy but it definitely can be a bit of an eyesore. It has a very powerful look. It looks like a Lord of the Rings tower. It definitely catches your eye.’

Garson agreed, describing the tower as 'a large supertall with more of a masculine feel'. 

However, he added that the dramatic, unforgiving façade belies a peaceful interior. 

The double-height residential lobby comes with elegant white oak walls, peppered with wooden veneers and a vaulted ceiling to echo the design of the 20th-century banking hall the building's base is attached to on DeKalb Avenue.  

Garson believes the building will be a slow burn for the area, anticipating a boom in sales later this year. 

'Over the last four to five years there’s been a big migration from Manhattan to Brooklyn,' the real estate tycoon told DailyMail.com. 

‘Brooklyn Tower checks a lot of boxes for buyers. It’s a pristine building with high-quality finishes. Plus, it's in an emerging neighborhood. I think it will do well over time.' 

‘There were a lot of new buildings that came to the market last year and now there aren’t as many,' Garson said, adding that this gap in the market could be where the Brooklyn Tower makes a breakthrough. 

Garson compared the tower to 125 Greenwich in Manhattan's Financial District, which struggled to attract sales until 'something happened'. 

The 88-story tower just south of the World Trade Center hit the market again in early 2024 after a pause due to financing troubles in 2017, and its now proving a hit.