Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a $32 million initiative to reduce the number of rats in New York City.
It’s a multi-agency plan that will target the Grand Concourse area, the Lower East Side and the Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant area. Officials believe they can cut rat activity by 70 percent by reducing the food sources and available habitats.
“We refuse to accept rats as a normal part of living in New York City. This $32 million investment is a multi-pronged attack to dramatically reduce the rat population in the City’s most infested areas and improve the quality of life for residents,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The plan calls for purchasing 336 solar compactors that will make it harder for rats to get to the garbage. Dirt basement floors will also be replaced with concrete “rat pads” at some NYCHA buildings. There will also be more frequent trash pickups and increased enforcement of rat-related violations.
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