Rodents Have Hit More Than Half Of NYC Restaurants, Records Show

NEW YORK, NY — Ever wonder if your favorite restaurant has had a rat problem? Chances are the answer is yes. The city has cited 63 percent of all restaurants for rat or mouse infestations at some point, according to an analysis of city records by blogger Thatcher Clay.

Some eateries have more problems than others. About 80 percent of Latin restaurants have been invaded by rodents, while just 45 percent of coffee shops have, Clay found.

Other rodent-prone eateries include Caribbean restaurants (79 percent cited), delis (75 percent), Indian (75 percent) and Thai (74.5 percent), according to Clay, a software developer who writes the data blog urban_calc.

Vermin seem to love Brooklyn the most, according to Clay's data. The borough has had 34,000 reported rat and mouse sightings since 2010, compared with 27,000 in Manhattan, 21,000 in the Bronx, 15,000 in Queens and just 4,500 in Staten Island.

Some infested eateries might show up on Patch's weekly list of New York City's filthiest restaurants shut down by the city Department of Health. See last week's list here.

Read Clay's full breakdown of New York City's rodent woes.

(Lead image by Rafael Garcia Jr./Associated Press)