The campaign against rats will get worse in New York City.
On Thursday, the City Council is anticipated to approve a package of anti-rat legislation in response to the mounting annoyance of New Yorkers with the city’s unchecked rodent population.
A total of four measures would require the city to create new rat mitigation zones, new pest control criteria for all significant private construction projects, and annual Health Department reports on the rat infestation.
The Sanitation Committee approved the so-called Rat Action Plan of the Council on Wednesday by a 9 to 0 vote, moving it up for a vote before the full Council on Thursday.
The rise in vermin appears to be caused by a variety of factors. A construction boom seems to be kicking up rats by upsetting their nests; dining sheds are frequently blamed for forcing rats into the open, and warming weather may be extending rat mating seasons.
The rat problems have been exacerbated by a trail of waste on the city’s pavement, possibly brought on by increased domestic garbage during the COVID era.
According to government data, the city received about 21,600 complaints about rats in the first nine months of 2022, a number that was 71% higher than the total reported at the same time in 2020.
The summers of Bedford-Stuyvesant are known as “flattened-rat season” because of the quantity of rodent roadkill that is strewn across the roadways, according to Councilman Chi Ossé, a Brooklyn Democrat and one of the legislation’s sponsors.
Nine days before the Council committee hearing, Mayor Adams announced a step-up in City Hall’s anti-rat initiative: a proposed modification to the city’s garbage collection regulations that would prohibit trash from being left on curbs before 8 p.m. 4 p.m. is the current start time.
JOIN US ON WHAT'SAPP, TO GET INSTANT STATUS UPDATES AND BE IN THE KNOW.
CLICK HERE
