Move over, Sinatra — Mayor Eric Adams is forming a 21st-century “Rat Pack.”
But this pack isn’t interested in movies or music. As Mayor Adams outlined Sunday in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park, the city’s “Rat Pack” will train an army of rat catchers laser-focused on helping the city win its war on the filthy, destructive rodents.
“Rat Pack” volunteers will take part in a two-hour “Rat Academy” class run by the Department of Health to learn how best to rat-proof their city. Upon graduation from the academy, the Rat Pack members will be asked then to do their part to help stop the critters.
“Rat Pack members will be able to defend their community from rodents and achieve our goal of making the city the least rat-friendly city in America,” Mayor Adams said. “From day one. This has been our administration goal.”
Community groups and volunteers who join the Rat Pack will be invited to go on a walking tour with Katherine Corradi, the director of rodent mitigation (aka the “Rat Czar”), to learn about key areas where rats are known to thrive, and how to keep them away.
Those signing up to volunteer will be armed with shovels, wood chips and other tools to help combat the growth of underground rat habitats.
“I’m learning that the wood chips go around the trees, and it helps to contain the water,” Adams told amNewYork Metro as he shoveled wearing a shirt reading “Rat Pack.”
According to Adams, rat sightings in the Big Apple have gone down in the last 12 months, although he didn’t cite a specific number. He also charged that the recently-announced trash container initiative will be 70% implemented by November, and also help curb the proliferation of rodents around the city.
To help control the rat population, the Health Department advises New Yorkers to follow these tips:
- Clean up all garbage and clutter to avoid giving rats a place to hide.
- Store all garbage in hard plastic rat-resistant containers with tight-fitting lids. Provide enough trash containers for all of the occupants of your property.
- Keep landscaped areas around your property free of tall weeds and trim shrubs that are close to the ground.
- Check for cracks or holes in the foundation of your building, sidewalk and under doors and repair them by filling and sealing them.
- On the street or in a park, put your litter in a can, and do not feed birds or other wildlife.
