New York City has sent rat-busting crews to various neighborhoods across the city in an effort to combat the growing rat population, reports The New York Post. With the city's rat problem reaching new heights, many residents have expressed their concerns about the potential health hazards and property damage caused by rodents.
The sweeping “Rat Mitigation Zones” cover Bushwick, Bed-Stuy and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, the target zones are in Chinatown, the East Village, the Lower East Side and Harlem.
The city has announced that it will prioritize Brooklyn in its efforts to combat the rat problem. Areas such as Williamsburg and Bed-Stuy have been identified as hotspots for rat activity due to various factors such as garbage disposal issues, food waste and building construction. Homes like Mayor Eric Adams' brownstone on Lafayette Avenue in Bed-Stuy have already been slapped with multiple fines for infestations.
“We also want our streets to look and feel different for New Yorkers. We don’t want people to see [rats]," The Health Department said in a recent statement. “When rats appear, New York City takes action to send them packing."
Adams recently signed a law into the city legislature last November that requires the city to identify neighborhoods grappling with pest infestation.
In addition to this, The Sanitation Department also now requires residents and businesses to put out their trash later — after 6:00pm in a secure container of 55 gallons or less with a secure lid or after 8:00pm if putting bags directly on the curb, instead of 4:00pm — in an effort to reduce the number of hours for rats to rummage through garbage.
"Focusing on Rat Mitigation Zones is one aggressive strategy we employ, using a set of criteria to launch a multi-agency effort aimed at kicking rats out of our neighborhoods," officials said in a statement.
