NYC introduces its first-ever 'rat czar'
NEW YORK CITY - New York City Mayor Eric Adams introduces the city's first-ever Rat Czar on Wednesday morning.
Kathleen Corradi is now the city's first Director of Rodent Mitigation. A former teacher who developed the city's zero-waste schools program, she has also led rodent reduction efforts for the Department of Education.
Corradi will now coordinate with city government agencies, community organizations, and the private sector to reduce the city's rat population.
"When I first saw this job posting, I wasn’t sure if it was real. ‘Blood thirsty’ is not a word you usually see in a job description and it’s certainly not a word I usually (use to) describe myself," Corradi said in a news conference at a Harlem park.
"You’ll be seeing a lot of me and a lot less rats," she vowed.
Rats have long bedeviled the city, a top public concern along with crime, homelessness and exorbitant rents. No traps nor poisonous bait have fully succeeded in reducing their numbers. Rats have thrived in subway tunnels and burrows within empty lots and city parks.
"Rats are smart, they are resilient," said Adams, a Democrat. "Many of us live in communities where rats think they run the city."
Over the past year, residents have called in almost 3.2 million rat sightings to the city's 311 service request line, just shy of the record number of complaints in 2021.
"Rats have proven to be one of the most formidable opponents that humans have faced. Here in New York City, we’re locked in a constant battle," said Councilmember Erik Bottcher, whose district includes Times Square.
New York City's approach is in contrast to some efforts by animal-rights advocates in Paris, where there could be more rats than its 2.2 million people, perhaps twice as many, according to some estimates. A strike by garbage workers left some streets teeming with rats.
Mayor Adams also announced that four city agencies will be investing $3.5M to launch the Harlem Rat Mitigation Zone, which will cover Community Boards 9, 10, and 11.
It’s not the first time a New York mayor has appointed a rat czar. Rudy Giuliani anointed one of his deputy mayors to handle the job — although Corradi will be the city's first director of rodent mitigation.
During his time in office, Giuliani established a task force, which spawned a boot camp called the "rodent academy" that still produces cadres of foot soldiers hoping to vanquish the city's army of rats.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio budgeted more than $30 million in his own failed bid to conquer rats. One plan relied on dry ice to suffocate rats in their burrows. It proved comedic at one demonstration for journalists when workers chased — but never caught — one of the fleeing vermin.
"Everyone tried," Adams said, acknowledging the city's noble efforts — and ultimate failures.
"We needed someone that was going to put all the pieces together and all the players together to coordinate this entire symphony of fighters. We needed a maestro."
With the Associated Press.