According to an analysis of 311 calls, conducted by CBS New York’s Tim McNicholas, rodent-related complaints continue to soar in the city despite the Adams administration’s “war on rats” and last year’s appointment of a “rat czar.”
The data showed that rodent complaints soared by 22 percent from 2019 to 2021 and continued to climb by an additional seven percent since Eric Adams took office in 2022 and launched his “war on rats.”
In the first seven months of this year over 24,000 rodent-related complaints were logged by the City.
McNicholas asked the City’s “rat czar,” Kathleen Corradi, why city mitigation efforts appear to be failing and she said that climate change is playing a role in driving up the numbers.
She said that rats tend to slow reproduction in cooler temperatures and since climate change is causing winter temperatures in the region to climb, more rats are being produced.
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“In the winter when it’s cooler temperatures, they will slow their reproduction. Because we continue to have warmer winters, means rats have more time to breed,” she told McNicholas.
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‘War on rats’
Corradi said that it’s not all bad news and pointed out that four rat hot spots in the city have seen a noticeable decline in complaints after the city invested millions of dollars; one of those areas being the Lower East Side where authorities sealed off a number of “rat holes.”
Her team has also been focusing on educating the public on how to handle their garbage in order to keep the rat numbers down.
“We can definitely improve the quality of life, but we need everyone on board,” she said.
Also, beginning this November, the City is implementing a new garbage control protocol for some residential buildings which will require residents to place their garbage into containers as opposed to simply placing the bags directly on the street.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) says it is engaging in efforts to address unsecured garbage on the streets near several buildings near the Atlantic Terminal Houses, which has been struggling with a rat population.
In a statement the NYCHA said, “As a pillar of the 2019 HUD Agreement, pest management is a priority in NYCHA’s mission of providing decent, affordable housing to residents. We remain extremely dedicated to addressing pest concerns at our developments, and ultimately improving the quality of NYCHA residents’ lives.”
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Rats as big as cats
In an interview with CBS, Isabel Stenson, a Brooklyn resident pointed out a rat during the interview saying, “See him? See him? Look, look. This is what I’m talking about.”
She said her neighborhood was like a “Rat Haven” and was “Rat Central.”
“It’s mad rats. Rats that look like cats. That’s how big they are,” she said.
CBS News reported that “dozens swarm the block” from an open trash room at a private co-op to NYCHA’s Atlantic Terminal Houses, adding that the rodents “burrow beneath bait boxes and scurry through the courtyard and playground.”
“Look how big he … and they come here and bring the food to their family,” Stenson said while another resident, Leandra Jones said, “Children outside eating and stuff like that, you can’t even eat because the rats will try and get their food.”
Deborah Lindsey told McNicholas, “As you can see here, they bit into the wires. Now our lights don’t come on.”
