'Rat Pack' Will Combat NYC Rodent Problem With Passage Of New Bills

NEW YORK CITY — A new set of bills will create a New York City-style "Rat Pack" to combat the wily rodents. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin play no part in the "Rat Action Plan."

Council Members announced victory on the steps of City Hall Thursday morning in the face of skyrocketing recently that have lead many residents to take on the rats themselves. Past efforts have either floundered or failed to address the underlying issues which allow rats to thrive.

The "Rat Action Plan" bills signal that city government might start to turn the tide in the war on rats, said City Council Member Shaun Abreu at a Thursday morning press conference.

"New York can rest easy," said Abreu. "We are fighting back."

Also in attendance for the celebratory presser were two "rats" who appeared to protest.

"Your rat plan," one rat's sign read, "= our rat pain."

The rats did not provide Patch further comment.

Abreu then thanked the "rat pack," members of the Sanitation committee and sponsors of the four rat-themed bills — deemed the rat action plan — to be voted on at Thursday's City Council meeting.

The four bills look to expand the powers of city officials to target prime sources of rats: trash and constriction.

One of the bills, sponsored by Abreu, would require the expanded use of rat-proof containers for a two-year period of buildings that receive two or more rodent specific housing or health violations, a strategy that most rat experts cite as the only way to truly manage rodent populations.

The bill does have a caveat, allowing sanitation officials to waive the requirement "where it would cause an undue hardship or public safety hazard," the bill reads.

Another bill proposed by Abreu would expand and survey the use of Rat Mitigation Zones, a definition first used in former Mayor Bill de Blasio's 2017 $32 billion rat plan.

The bills would require the Department of Health to designate these special rat zones, determined by high levels of rat infestation, by April of next year, which would allow for targeted pest management by the city and would require buildings to use rodent-proof receptacles, according to Sanitation Committee Chair Council Member Sandy Nurse.

Rat Mitigation Zones would also allow for the sanitation department to set special times for trash collection in an attempt to reduce the time trash is available for feasting.

Mayor Eric Adams announced a similar change to trash put-out times recently, but the mayor's plan still leaves the majority of trash sitting out all night, which is typically when the nocturnal rat scrounges for food.

Crown Heights Council Member Chi Ossé's bill would require study of the Rat Mitigation Zones's success in an annual report.

Council Member Erik Bottcher, who covers parts of the West Village, Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, also introduced a bill targeting construction sites, requiring the use of a licensed extermination to perform rodent treatments prior obtaining permits for certain types of construction.

"For too long, we've been living with rats running all over the place," Bottcher said at Thursday's rally, "New Yorkers are tired of it. They're tired of the status quo. They want government to step up. "

Sanitation Committee Chair and Brooklyn Council Member Sandy Nurse told Patch that these bills mark a serious step towards ensuring that New Yorkers will no longer live in the shadow of Big Rat.

Nurse added that she has plans to push even further by reaching a level of standardized, city-wide containerized trash, which she admits will take time and a large investment.

In the near term, Nurse is looking forward to passing Brooklyn Council Member Shahana Hanif's Zero Waste bill, which would expand curbside organics pickup citywide — removing food waste from regular trash bags.

Comparing the legislation to the Mayor's announcement earlier this month, she said, "The Zero Waste package, I think, has the biggest bang for our buck as a city."