Harlem Rats Could Be Contained By New Bills, As Complaints Keep Rising

HARLEM, NY — The surge in rats that has plagued Harlem and the rest of the city could be curbed by a pair of newly introduced bills, according to the Harlem City Council member that is pushing them.

As of Friday, there have been 954 rat sightings recorded across Harlem this year, according to 311 data — the most recorded in the neighborhood since at least 2012. That's consistent with a trend that Patch documented back in March, and which some observers trace back to the pandemic's onset.

The same pattern has been observed across New York City, with this past April seeing the most rat complaints of any April in at least a decade, Gothamist reported last week.

Now, Shaun Abreu, who represents West Harlem, Manhattanville and parts of Washington Heights in the City Council, has introduced two bills that he says could help mitigate the infestations.

The first would require the owners of buildings that have had a high number of rodent infestations to install rat-proof garbage receptacles, while the second would allow the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to designate certain neighborhoods as "rat mitigation zones" if inspections reveal major rodent activity.

Any building in a rat mitigation zone with nine or more apartments would then be required to put its trash out between 4-6 a.m. on collection day.

"Rats are a huge quality of life issue, and they pose a real threat to public health in the numbers that we’ve been seeing," said Abreu, adding that his office has received calls about "rats burrowing into apartments, climbing through walls, even burrowing under a school playground, where they’ve become so bold as to run around during the day, scaring young students during recess."

Abreu's office pointed to his February appearance on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show, where a constituent named Kate described a landlord on her block whose eight buildings leave their garbage on the sidewalk, attracting rodents.

"They store their garbage in the bags on the street right next to the bins, and when I called 311 to complain, they said that that's legal as long as it's in line of the stoop," Kate said. "The rats are running in and out of these bags. They're not even afraid of humans. It's incredible."

Both of Abreu's bills have already drawn a handful of cosponsors, including Brooklyn member Sandy Nurse, who chairs the Council's sanitation committee.

"The situation has become dire, and it’s up to us as elected officials to work with the City to create new and inventive strategies to take our City back from the rats," Abreu said.

Related rat coverage:

• Harlem Rat Complaints Keep Rising In 2022, Data Shows
• Rats Keep Plaguing Harlem, But Sightings Distributed Unevenly
• Pols Demand City Clean Up Harlem Trash, Rats As Complaints Soar
• Rats Thrived As Trash Piled Up 14 Stories At Harlem NYCHA Complex