Rats in New York City
[3] New York City rats carry pathogens that can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and fever in humans – especially in children.
[4] Over the next few decades, the larger and more aggressive brown variety displaced the black rats, typically by attacking and killing them, but also by out-competing them for food and shelter.
However, a 2014 study by Jonathan Auerbach, which was reported in the Royal Statistical Society's Significance magazine, estimated that there were closer to 2 million rats in the city.
This conclusion is based on characteristics such as human population patterns, public sanitation practices, climate, housing construction standards and other variables.
Curbside overnight garbage disposal from residences, stores, subway and restaurants, as well as littering, contribute to the sustenance of the city's rats.
[25] A survey conducted by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in 2014 studied 133 brown rats from residential buildings in Manhattan.
[27] Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit scientific organization that researches links between human health and wildlife, called the study "shocking and surprising".
Given the close quarters shared by rats and New York City residents, he found it to be "a recipe for a public health nightmare".
[33] Local authorities in New York have long recognized that eliminating rats from the city is unrealistic, but have made various efforts to control their prevalence.
The approach has traditionally been reactive: after receiving complaints of infestation, officials would commence control efforts at that site by placing rodent poison, traps, or contraceptives.
[34][35][36] In recent years, the city adopted a more proactive approach to rodent control known as integrated pest management, which focuses on preventive measures.
The chemical's effects were to gradually shrink the number of pups a female rat can have in a litter, eventually rendering them infertile.
[47][48] Conditions both inside and outside of buildings, including on public property, that contribute to or allow the establishment of rat populations constitute violations of Article 151 of the Health Code.
[47][48] Maintenance measures include proper storage of garbage, removal of water sources, and elimination of environments suitable for nesting.
[18][50][49][51] It also becomes important to keep garbage that are in parks inside litter cans, and not feeding birds or any of the surrounding wildlife that could potentially attract them.
[53] New York City property owners and residents are advised to watch for signs of infestation like gnawed wood and plastic and evidence of rat trails.
[54] An online map created by the New York City Department of Health enables people to search specific addresses for rat issues.
[49] Failure to comply with an order of the Commissioner is a misdemeanor, and subjects the landlord to criminal prosecution, a fine and/or imprisonment, as well as additional civil penalties.
[49] In 2014, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer criticized the Health Department as "weak" in investigating and fixing residents' rat complaints.
"[18] In July 2000, the mayoral administration of Rudy Giuliani established a rat abatement task force in response to increasing rat-infestation complaints.
[62] After several months of hearings, a New York City Council committee recommended creating a permanent agency to combat rat infestations in February 2001.
[61] The mayoral administration of Bill de Blasio launched a $400,000 pilot program in the mid-2010s to combat rat infestations in parks, the subway, and sewers.
[70] Between August 2023 and March 2024, the city implemented rules requiring all businesses to put out trash within sturdy bins on garbage collection days.
[80][81] In February 2007, a morning news program featured a live report of a pack of rats overrunning a joint Taco Bell-KFC fast food restaurant in Greenwich Village.
[83][84] Owners of the store reassured customers that the infestation was an isolated incident, but neighborhood residents interviewed stated that the franchise had exhibited a consistent presence of rats.
[85] Though the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ordered both restaurants to stay closed, both storefronts gathered crowds, who came to observe the sheer quantity of rats inside the stores.
[87] Prior to this event, the restaurant received several health code violations including, "establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects, or pests.
[101][102] Shortly following the accident, the victim filed a lawsuit for gross negligence against EH & HD 183rd Realty LLC and the city of New York.
[104][105][106][107] In June 2014, residents at adjacent Upper West Side buildings started a rent strike, demanding an end to the rat problem.
[108] Also in 2014, Allerton Coops in Bronx Park East received three Notices of Violation from the Health Department and was fined for their inadequate response to a severe rat infestation.
