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Mayor pitches ‘elite’ civilian squad 'Rat Pack' in NYC’s ongoing rat war
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 28, 2024
Modified Jul 28, 2024
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Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Jul 28, 2024
Modified Jul 28, 2024
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New York City rats may not, as Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, “run this city,” but they sure do make great merch. (We should know.)
Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday announced the formation of the New York City Rat Pack, described as an “elite squad of dedicated anti-rat activists,” complete with its own logo and merchandise. And he wants New York City’s most rabid rat-haters to join.
“You can be proud to lead your community to a rat-free environment,” he said at a news conference in Sunset Park. “Rat Pack members will be able to defend their communities from rodents and achieve our goal of making New York City the least rat-friendly city in America.”
But before they can get their hands on a “Rat Pack” T-shirt or hat, there are three things New Yorkers must do.
The first requirement is attending a Department of Health Rat Academy training, a two-hour workshop that teaches New Yorkers about rat prevention in their neighborhoods typically hosted by a community partner or elected official.
The second is signing up for a 30-minute “Rat Walk” – with city “Rat Czar” Katherine Corradi, the director of rodent mitigation – which will “highlight the relationship between the built environment, human behaviors, and rat biology.”
And the third is completing a NYC Service Volunteer rat mitigation event, like a park cleanup or garden workday.
Participants will be emailed a form to certify that they checked off all the prerequisites. Only then will they have the chance to claim “Rat Pack” status and own merchandise with the official logo: an orange R on a navy blue background with a rat face embedded into it.
Adams said rat sightings in the city have gone down in 12 out of the last 13 months.
“Rat sightings are down nearly 14% in the City's Rat Mitigation Zones year over year, and have fallen by an incredible 55% in the Hamilton Heights residential containerization pilot zone since the pilot began," a press release from the mayor's office said.
Earlier this month, the city mandated trash bins for most homes with the goal of keeping garbage piles off the sidewalk in the hopes of reducing rat numbers. It was the latest development in the city’s efforts to containerize all of its garbage, an initiative officials have coined “trash revolution.”
This story has been updated with figures on rat sightings from the mayor's office.
Tagged
new york city
eric adams
sanitation
Catalina Gonella
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