Developing: Are The Pavilion’s Rats Back To Haunt The Theater?

When news broke that The Pavilion was bought by Williamsburg’s Nitehawk Cinemas, we thought we were saying goodbye to the gum-spackled, rat-infested-yet-beloved theater.

But now it looks like the theater we love to hate is getting chewed out once again, this time by union rats.

The enormous, inflatable rat (a.k.a union rat) was spotted by a BKLYNER reader outside the theater this morning. The rat is an iconic, theatrical form of protest used to expose the use of non-union contractors at a construction site.

The protest, led by Local 79, calls public attention to the theater’s hiring of potentially dubious contractors for the theater’s demolition work — which is expected to take about one year and cost roughly $10 million.

In addition, the fraying flag swinging above the cinema’s marquee is rattling neighbors and the Local 79 alike, according to neighbor Tom Prendergast.

We reached out to Local 79 and Nitehawk Cinemas and will update the story as we hear back and get confirmation on the details of this unfolding story.