'The Burning Man of Rats': New York City Has Reached Peak Rat
Rats shall inherit New York City, if this year is anything to go by.
According to The New York Times, the city’s complaint hotline is expected to receive a record-breaking number of rat calls this year — higher than the 24,000 calls it got last year regarding rats. One woman has called to complain about a colony of 200 rats living in the Upper West Side:
“It’s like the Burning Man of rats. They’re just sitting there in a lawn chair waiting for you. I don’t know what the city can do about this rat condominium.”
The “rat crisis,” as it’s been called, is likely due to a combination of things, chiefly due to garbage left on city sidewalks after heavy snowfalls last winter. A host of plans, from food control to poisons, have been proposed, and Mayor Bill de Blasio devoted $2.9 million in rat plan money last June.
It’s worth noting, however, that plans have worked to curb the rat population in New York haven’t really worked in the past. And while rats may carry some dangerous pathogens, it’s also worth noting that you’re ten times more likely to be bit by another person in New York City than to be bit by a rat.
Can’t we all just get along?
