These Are NYC's Most Rat-Infested Neighborhoods

NEW YORK, NY — While all New Yorkers see rats skulking around from time to time, rodents have invaded some areas more deeply than others. An interactive map shows the most rat-infested neighborhoods in the five boroughs.

The geospatial researcher Vanessa Mateus scraped a database of 311 complaints about rodents from 2013 to 2018 and mapped where the most reports came from.

The data included thousands complaints about sightings of rats and mice, signs of rodents and conditions that attract them. Mateus gave each area a numerical "rodent severity rank" from two to nine based on the number and proximity of the complaints.

Mott Haven and Melrose in the South Bronx have the most severe rodent problem with severity ranks ranging from six to nine. Neighborhoods with rankings that high are home to lots of older, mixed-use buildings, Mateus wrote.

Brooklyn rodents are thriving most in Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill, which have severity ranks ranging from six to eight. The area around the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy has the borough's highest concentration of complaints.

Central Harlem, Morningside Heights and Yorkville are the most rodent-infested parts of Manhattan with severity ranks of seven. East Harlem, the East Village and Hamilton Heights aren't far behind with ranks of six.

Rodents apparently stay out of Queens. The borough's biggest trouble spot in Jackson Heights only has a severity rank of three.

Check out the map here to see how bad your neighborhood's rodent problem is.

(Lead image: Photo by John A. Anderson/Shutterstock)