Death, taxes and shoe-sized rodents — all guaranteed to come with life in New York.
A Harlem resident went viral during a recent interview when she succinctly put the Big Apple’s rat problem to a scale that can be understood by all Americans.
“We’ve had rats the size of Crocs just running up and down the street,” Ruth McDaniels, a local activist and Harlem tenants association president, told CBS New York, referring, of course, to the footwear and not (yet) the predatory reptile.
“An average size 8, running up and down the street,” added McDaniels, who previously ran for the city council’s 9th District and, according to her Instagram, is vying again.
The funny but true commentary came Saturday during the city’s first “Anti-Rat Day of Action” — McDaniels posted that no-shows are rat lovers — as the city looks to turn the corner on one of its worst-ever years battling the trash-eating marauders.
The January to April 2022, New Yorkers called 311 to report 7,400 rat sightings — up from an estimated 6,510 during the same period in 2021.
However, there might just be a proverbial light at the end of the subway tunnel, as rat calls to 311 decreased by 26% this June compared to the same month a year prior.
The 12-month span between May 2022 and May 2023 saw a 15% slide as well.
City officials were quick to laud new garbage policies, which halt both businesses and homeowners from putting out trash before 8 p.m.
NYC also appointed Kathleen Corradi to the coveted role of “rat czar” last April to further eradicate the scurrying issues, in addition to launching the interactive “rat information portal,” or “rat map” for short.
“Rats need food, water and shelter to survive,” Corradi explained in a passionate speech during this past weekend’s event — one that showed residents how to further fight the sole-sized problem that’s attacking the city’s soul.
“Today, we’re going to cut off their food source and reduce their habitat, take away the places they can live,” she declared.
