Rats as big as crocs! Woman’s description of vermin on her block sparks hilarity on social media – as NYC begins long-overdue campaign to clean the streets
New York City’s “rattsaar” was joined by throngs of supporters as the Big Apple celebrated its first-ever “anti-rat day of action” — one woman, however, filed a whopper of a complaint.
“There were rats the size of crocodiles running down the street,” says Ruth McDaniels, president of her local Harlem tenant association.
She then cleared up any misunderstanding, just in case anyone imagined crocodile-sized vermin having a block party in Upper Manhattan.
“Like a crocodile shoe,” she clarified, “average size eight, walks up and down the street.”
An excerpt of her interview has been liked 42,000 times on Instagram, with many finding the humor in the specificity of her description.
The city’s various agencies gathered on Tuesday for “anti-rat day” to celebrate successes while also admitting areas for improvement.
“There were rats the size of crocodiles running down the street,” said Ruth McDaniels, president of her local Harlem tenant association.
It comes just weeks after Adams — who made a huge public display of hiring “Czar” Kathleen Corradi — claimed the city is “winning” its war on rats.
In June and July, the city saw a 20 percent drop in calls to 311 to report rats, with some areas of New York reporting drops of up to 45 percent, according to CBS New York.
Harlem is one of four so-called “mitigation zones” that receive extra money from the city to get rid of rats.
Corradi brought together various departments of the city, including sanitation, in an effort to demonstrate how to stop the rodents.
Rats need food, water and shelter to survive. Today we’re going to cut off their food source and reduce their habitat, take away the places where they can live,” she said, according to CBS New York.
The city also launched its first ‘Interactive rat map’.
The Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Harlem showed the most activity in Manhattan, while Greenwich Village, East Village, SoHo and on to the Lower East showed some of the least.
Adams declared war on the rats last December when he began looking for someone to fill the new position. “There’s nothing I hate more than rats,” he said as he promoted what is now Corradi’s job.
The position was intended for anyone with a background in urban planning, project management or government work. It explained that the job would require “the impossible” to reduce the number of rats in the city.
New York City “rat sar” Kathleen Corradi (pictured) found widespread support for the city’s efforts to rid the streets of vermin as the Big Apple celebrated its first-ever “anti-rat day of action.”
The city also ‘celebrated’ the anti-rat action day by launching an ‘Interactive Rat Map’ on the city’s website
Corradi has become the first-ever Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation, but the long-awaited position was previously dubbed the ‘rattsaar’
At a press conference, the city laid out a variety of materials it suggested using to attack the rat population, including traps, sealant and toxins.
The mayor’s borough of Brooklyn is known to have rat problems and has dealt with the problem with the help of the Department of Health
It also suggested that the right candidate would have a “reckless attitude, sly wit and a general aura of badassery.” Knowledge of PowerPoint was also required.
The job also required ‘stamina and stage skills’ and the list suggested ‘the ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty’.
Despite their successful public engagement strategy and brutal social media presence, rats are not our friends. Rodents spread disease, damage homes and wiring, and even try to control the movements of kitchen workers in an attempt to take over human jobs,” the report read.
Adams’ citywide rat problem has also affected his own home. In December, he was served a subpoena for a rat infestation at the Brooklyn home where he lives with his son.
His criminal record showed an unpaid $330 subpoena he received in May — after his home in Bedford Stuyvesant was found to be overrun with rodents.
Adams challenged the ticket at a hearing before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings in February, but an officer denied the challenge and the mayor was ordered to pay $300.