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Can We Conquer Rats By Banning Food On Subways?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 1, 2010
Modified Nov 1, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 1, 2010
Modified Nov 1, 2010
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Rats are really trying to make their way into the headlines after being pushed aside by bedbugs all summer long, and today they made it all the way to the Gray Lady, who says Northern Manhattan straphangers are claiming rodents are on the rise underground. Or maybe this was their plan all along, to distract with news of bedbugs while they plan their diabolical rat takeover!
Well, either way, the ratdemic is growing, and it's shining on its main stage right now: the subway system. The paper notes the Board of Health study from earlier this year that discovered half the subway lines in Lower Manhattan have mild to severe rat infestations, and now they check back in with the less-scientific Have You Seen A Rat Today? campaign. Launched by Senator Bill Perkins in August, the survey has discovered that rats have taken over 20 stations in Upper Manhattan, too!
All in all, 5,000 New Yorkers filled out the surveys—which only included Upper Manhattan stations—with 9 out of 10 responding that they saw rats on a daily or weekly basis. A shocking 1% said they never see rats!
Perkins hopes to prompt officials to examine new methods on the war against rodents—and to that end, he's proposed an eating ban on subways; he says, “What we know for sure is the rats are not growing the food they are eating, nor are they shopping at Whole Foods or McDonald’s. If you feed ’em, you breed ’em.” And now, our own unscientific survey:
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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