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Mayor Adams blames rat infestation at his Brooklyn home on neighbor
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Feb 9, 2023
Modified Feb 9, 2023
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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Feb 9, 2023
Modified Feb 9, 2023
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Mayor Eric Adams blamed the rat problem at his Brooklyn home on a neighbor Thursday, arguing at a hearing that he shouldn’t be on the hook for $1,200 in fines for the infestation.
The hearing in the city’s administrative law court, OATH, was Adams’ second appearance in three months for the alleged rodents at his four-story home in Bed-Stuy. The mayor, who’s launched a citywide war on rats, has been unable to vanquish the vermin in his own backyard, according to city inspectors who issued two citations in December for “an active rat runway” and “harborage conditions.”
Adams sought to deflect blame for the rodent sightings during the hearing, boasting of his mitigation efforts and promising to produce photo and video evidence linking the rat burrows to a neighbor.
“The entire block is infested with a serious rodent problem,” Adams told the judge.
Mayor Adams' Bed-Stuy residence appeared well maintained on the day of his hearing for a rat infestation.
Jake Offenhartz/Gothamist
The ongoing saga has pitted the mayor, a sworn enemy of rats, against a bureaucracy that he oversees, making for some awkward exchanges during the virtual hearing. At points, Judge Sam Chetrit chided Adams for providing exterminator invoices she said were not relevant to the case. Chetrit questioned the mayor’s commitment to ensuring his tenants were properly storing recycling.
“We’re all engaged – all of my tenants, they put the garbage inside the pail. It’s well maintained. The video and the photo clearly shows my property is well kept,” Adams said, adding that he’d spent upwards of $8,000 rat-proofing the residence.
City records show owners of several other buildings on Adams’ block have also been fined by city agencies in recent years, including a next-door neighbor who was ticketed for a dirty sidewalk last February.
Those living next to Adams' Lafayette Street property were surprised and angry he had pinned the blame on them.
“He did what?” exclaimed one neighbor, who only gave her name as Jill for fear of angering the mayor. “That’s so messed up.”
Others noted that a cleanup of Adams' property had happened only recently.
Some neighbors, however, acknowledged Adams may have had a point about the neighbor, pointing out piles of trash and recycling sitting in a front courtyard.
“It’s not totally invalid,” added one tenant, who requested anonymity in order to avoid offending the neighbor. Gothamist was unable to reach that resident.
A pile of garbage on a property neighboring Mayor Eric Adams' Bed-Stuy home.
Jake Offenhartz/Gothamist
In December, Adams successfully argued against a separate summons for “active rat signs” at his property. But separate inspections resulted in two other citations, which were the subject of Thursday’s hearing.
A mayoral spokesperson called the dispute “a personal, not governmental matter.” Adams was at one point represented by Rahul Agarwal, a deputy chief counsel in the mayor’s office, in connection with the prior summons.
On Thursday, Adams represented himself and touted his rat-killing efforts – including a drowning mechanism that he famously deployed as Brooklyn's borough president. Adams now uses the macabre device outside the Bed-Stuy property.
“I have two machines that collect and kill rats,” Adams said. Each week, he added, an exterminator “checks them to make sure if there are any new rodents. Since October of last year, there was no new collection.”
A green box used to kill rats outside of Adams' residence.
Jake Offenhartz
It’s not the first time Adams has been accused of keeping a rat-friendly property. Records show that he received violations in 2012 and 2013 at the same address for allowing a “large accumulation” of trash outside his Bed-Stuy home. Both tickets were later dismissed.
The administrative law judge will rule within 30 days.
Tagged
Mayor Eric Adams
brooklyn
sanitation
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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