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If you’re not fond of NYC’s rodent situation, there’s one person to thank: Nathaniel Katz.

The German-born, UK transplant eventually made his way across the pond in the late 1700’s and ever-so-kindly introduced New Yorkers to rats, which he had hoped would be a pet of sorts for urbanites. Now that we’ve officially been crowned one of the rattiest cities in America nearly 300 years later, we can’t help but look back in time and point fingers.

Never heard of Nathaniel? No surprise there. Technically, he doesn’t exist — he’s a figment of artist Joe Reginella’s imagination.

The Staten Island-based sculptor and freelance artist, who once dreamed of becoming a special effects artist, creates extravagant monuments dedicated to the city’s rich history…except none of the backstories are actually true.

His latest work is a tribute to Nathaniel — a majestic bust of the mustached fellow with a few rats scurrying about. And, of course, there’s a story noting his contributions to the city. But if you believed this deep-dive into New York’s past, the joke’s on you.

“I’m just having a little bit of fun,” Reginella confesses.

He considers his work to be an immersive installation more than anything else. First, there’s a wild backstory he fabricates, which you can find on his website NYC Urban Legends. Then, there’s a mini documentary based on the city’s historical time period, and the sculpture itself, which Reginella transports throughout the city, particularly to his “muse,” Battery Park City.

Perhaps you’ve seen some of his pieces there, such as the tribute to the “Staten Island Ferry Octopus Disaster” or the “NYC UFO Tugboat Abduction.” They look real, and the outrageous stories are crazy enough to be true. (Hey, this is NYC, after all.) His work looks like something you’d see in an exhibit, but the history lesson is meant to be a fun exaggeration.

“Just enjoy being in this world for a couple of minutes,” Reginella encourages. But how does he come up with said worlds?

“If I knew, I would tell ya! They just come to me,” he jokes. “They’re based on real facts and then I mix them in with my story.”

Perhaps he can credit his nephew for his now wildly-popular projects. While riding on the Staten Island Ferry many moons ago, Reginella’s nephew was curious to know if monsters live in the water. Reginella created this whole fabricated undersea world to entertain his little buddy, and from there, the idea to create monuments with a unique story came to be.

“What other place can I do this particular project,” he asks. “It’s so built-in. It’s got tourists, a rich history, and these pieces are kind of a love letter to New York.”

If you look closely, you’ll realize small details within each piece are actually pretty interesting and rather telling. Reginella will use famous dates in history to coincide with his stories, and he’ll put his own spin on actual events.

For example, Reginella’s “Brooklyn Bridge Elephant Stampede” is in fact based on the elephants that walked along the Brooklyn Bridge to test its sturdiness when it once first built. But the date of his fabricated wild charge just so happens to be when the stock market crashed (October 29th, 1929). Pretty clever, right?!

Though he cannot reveal what’s next without giving away too much detail, Reginella tells Secret NYC that his next work will be based on the 1970s, and it’s definitely going to raise some eyebrows. Until his next piece is revealed, visit NYC Urban Legends for a deep dive into the fantasy realm and to snag swag of each installation.

We can’t wait to see what’s next!

The post This NYC Artist Pays Tribute To The City’s Rich History — But There’s A Huge Catch appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here