Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Watch An Aggro Subway Rat Charge At A Journalist Trying To Film It
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 19, 2014
Modified Aug 19, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 19, 2014
Modified Aug 19, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Rats are intelligent creatures—they've been wily enough to survive by eating all the trash we leave behind and developing immunities from all the raticide. And it seems they also don't appreciate your attempts to film them.
Josiah Ryan, editor at The Blaze, was waiting for a train at the Bryant Park subway station on Friday and saw an "enormous New York City rat loitering on the platform, possibly awaiting the D train. Being a responsible journalist, I swiftly whipped out my always-present camera to immortalize the creature for you and for posterity." And then the rat decided to charge towards him at an impressive clip:
Ryan told PIX11, "I am a football field away, minding my own business. And this rat just comes straight at me with no provocation. I mean maybe he didn’t want to be recorded. I don’t know how smart they are." He added, "The only damage was to my dignity. The rat passed nearby, possibly between my legs, but faded at the moment of crisis. If I have rabies, I don’t know it yet."
Let's enjoy some of that rat's sprinting:
PIX11 reports that despite what the video suggests, the MTA feels its efforts to decrease the rat population—by sterilizing female rats with special non-toxic bait—are working.
Tagged
rat
rat attack
rat runing
subway
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Peepapalooza: NYC is heading to the Hudson Valley to watch the leaves
Don't be surprised if you run into someone from your building in Beacon.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
Sean Carlson
Published Oct 24, 2026 at 10:46 a.m. ET
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
The woman is in stable condition, police said, but several people were stabbed.
By
Ryan Kost
News
NYPD: Officer shot, injured knife-wielding woman during ‘chaotic’ night at Queens home
The woman is in stable condition, police said, but several people were stabbed.
By
Ryan Kost
3 slates vying to run Jersey City school board as city stares down major tax hikes
By
Michael Sol Warren
5 men charged with trespassing in 2 Manhattan manhole cases
By
Charles Lane
6-year-old girl breaks leg after getting hit by falling bricks in Queens
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .