The city’s first-ever “rat czar,” who has taken on the unenviable task of trying to eliminate the rodent population in New York City, visited the Bronx recently to address concerns over the amount of sightings coming out of the Parkchester section.
City Council Member Amanda Farías and Kathleen Corradi, the city’s director of rodent mitigation, led a tour around the Parkchester subway station on Sept. 22 to evaluate the response of efforts to eradicate the pesky vermin there as well as the surrounding areas of Hugh J. Grant Circle and Virginia Park.
According to Mayor Eric Adams’ office, the city’s approach to rat mitigation includes identifying areas of concern contributing to the rat population, as well as discussing and addressing issues, along with intervention and evaluation, an ongoing process based on different situations throughout the city.
After the initial evaluation, other mitigation efforts include cleaning up — washing away rat droppings and track marks, along with controlling weeds, shrubs and bushes and getting rid of clutter on property, as well as depriving the vermin of food by managing garbage and decreasing the number of hours garbage stays on the street before pickup.
Final preventative steps include shutting the rats out by sealing cracks, filling holes and closing burrows, and eventually wiping them out with rodent baiting.
Various areas outside of the Parkchester station revealed potential rat nesting for breeding, known as “hot spots.” Those locations are identified through 311 data, as well as inspection data from NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOH).
“It can’t just be residents, and it can’t just be homeowners — it has to be all of us being on the same page and working together to combat this consistent issue,” said Farías, whose Council District 18 also includes the neighborhoods of Soundview and Castle Hill.
Back in October 2022, Adams declared war on rats moving to expand the city’s rat mitigation zones — a strategy first implemented in 2017. As it stands, there’s four zones across the five boroughs, including the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Other zones — defined as areas evaluated annually with high levels of rat activity — include Harlem and East Village/Chinatown in Manhattan and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Bushwick in Brooklyn.
The next evaluation will take place in the spring of 2024, according to the mayor’s office.
But the measures have already had an impact, Adams administration officials claim, as rat sightings in those zones are allegedly down 45%, and 60% within the Grand Concourse area.
Additionally, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) enforced a new rule, beginning April 1, for residents and businesses to put their trash, recycling and curbside composting on the sidewalks no earlier than 6 p.m. Trash bags being placed curbside should be disposed of after 8 p.m., according to DSNY. Previously, trash was allowed out at 4 p.m.
But the biggest move may have been the appointment of Corradi that same month, when the mayor also announced a $3.5 million investment in his war.
At that April press conference, Adams described Corradi as “someone who has the knowledge, drive, experience and energy to lead the rodent mitigation effort.”
According to Corradi, there is a slogan in the anti-rodent world, “If you feed them, you breed them.”
As of August, there are an estimated 3 million rats in NYC, Curbed reported.
Along with the mayor, Corradi has received support from many officials throughout the five boroughs. According to the rats, however, she’s their new worst enemy.
“Having Kathleen come to an outer borough, where residents often feel unheard by citywide leadership — it’s important that our city leaders show their commitment to a community that has long been divested from and ignored, and that they will not continue to go unnoticed,” Farías added.
On the tour, Farías handed out brochures for property owners and tenants, which provide information on how to control the rat population on city properties. According to the brochure, any commercial or residential property owner who fails an inspection will have five days to correct the problem, and may receive fines if they fail a second inspection.
Adams’ office also encourages all NYC residents to frequently go to the Rat Information Portal, a web-based mapping app that allows viewers to check rat inspection and action data throughout the city, collected by DOH.
Reach Steven Goodstein at sgoodstein@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4561. Reach Christian Falcone at cfalcone@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-2541.
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