I-Team: Rat sightings have doubled in New York City over the past 12 months, according to health data

If you’ve noticed creepy falling rats on the sidewalks of New York lately, the numbers will back you up.

According to data released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), city inspectors recorded twice as many rodent activity in 2022 as they did in 2021.

“It scares. It’s worrisome. It is not safe. And it’s unhealthy,” said Cheney Marcus, one of several members of the East 69th Street Association, a neighborhood group that has complained about rats plaguing the sidewalks of the Upper East Side.

In total last year, city health inspectors recorded about 60,000 cases of rodent activity in five districts. This compares to about 30,000 references to rodents in 2021. City Hall partly blamed the doubling of rat sightings on the fact that health inspectors visited more facilities last year than the previous year. But that is not all.

Before the pandemic, in 2018, sanitary inspectors recorded about 31,000 rodent sightings during 255,000 site visits. Last year, inspectors made 5,000 fewer visits, but still recorded 93% more rodent activity than five years earlier.

Residents, businesses, and politicians have suggested many potential causes for the rat explosion. Some cite an increase in foot traffic as the city emerges from the pandemic. Still others blame construction work for disturbing rodent burrows.

Council Member Julie Menin (Upper East Side State) blames the decline in garbage collection in the era of the pandemic.

“The sanitation budget has been significantly reduced during COVID. Then you had a proliferation of outdoor canopies, outdoor dining. It caused more rats and then the problem just wasn’t solved,” Menin said. “Now there is a turning point, a crisis point in the city.”

Menin gave $10,000 this month to a new kind of rat extermination on East 86th Street. The strategy involves using a machine that pumps carbon monoxide into rat holes under tree holes in the sidewalks.

Mayor Adams’ rat problems continue. John Chandler reports.

“When we started trying it, we immediately saw results in the sense that the rats are actually coming out of their burrows and dying right in front of our eyes,” said Matthew Deodato, owner of Urban Pest Management.

Late last year, Mayor Adams signed a legislative package aimed at eradicating rats. One of the bills allows the city to significantly reduce the number of hours trash cans sit on public sidewalks. Adams also announced his intention to hire a new “rat king” to coordinate municipal rodent control efforts.

“During the pandemic, people’s behavior has changed, and so have the rats,” said Kate Smart, a spokeswoman for City Hall. millions for cleanliness initiatives, reducing the time black bags sit on our corners, and rolling out the largest composting pilot in the country to store food waste in trash cans instead of plastic bags.”

Four of the ten sites that attract the most rodent references are public gardens owned by the New York City Parks Department, according to city inspection data.

“Everyone walks in the middle of the street because [the rats] running on sidewalks,” said Roxanne Bury, who lives next door to one of the community gardens.

Asked about city properties that attracted a huge number of rodent mentions last year, the Adams administration pointed to its “Get Stuff Clean” initiative, a plan unveiled in November that includes more than $14 million to hire 200 new sanitation workers and conduct “hot jobs”. spot cleaning” and rat control in city parks.

One of the most persistent rat problems exists in Mayor Adams’ Brooklyn neighborhood. Its Bedford-Stuyvesant zip code – 11221 – attracted more rodent references than any other zip code in the city during 2022, according to rodent screening data. Health inspectors even mentioned Adams’ brownstone house due to rodent activity.

The mayor successfully appealed the rodent control summons issued in May 2022. But in December, an inspector issued two more rodent complaints to his property for “failure to eliminate rodent infestation” and “failure to eliminate conditions conducive to the reproduction of rodents.” Adams insisted that he spent $7,000 to exterminate the rats around his home and vowed to fight the latest challenges.

The consequences of allowing rats to reign supreme are more than just a deterioration in the quality of life. Rat urine can spread a virus called leptospirosis, which can kill dogs and even humans.

Last month, the health ministry reported an increase in cases of leptospirosis in both dogs and humans in the city over the past five years. Dr. Karen Kantor, a veterinarian at the Westside Veterinary Center, said she encourages pet owners to get vaccinated against leptospirosis.

“If the rat urine is within half an hour of the rat, they can get it,” Cantor said. “If it is caught very early, it is not fatal, but I have had two patients die from it.”