Mayor Eric Adams to host inaugural National Urban Rat Summit

The city says local leaders will discuss how they identify rat hot spots and how they remove conditions that allow rats to thrive.

Rob Flaks

Sep 18, 2024, 2:54 AM

Updated 16 days ago

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As the war on rats continues, city agencies are set to gather on Wednesday to discuss their efforts to combat the critters taking over the five boroughs.
These efforts include extermination and garbage containerization.
The inaugural National Urban Rat Summit will be hosted by Mayor Eric Adams.
The city says local leaders will also discuss how they identify rat hot spots and how they remove conditions that allow rats to thrive.
Speakers from across the country are expected to be in attendance.
According to city data, Brooklyn received over 7,000 complaints of rats since January 2024, more than the other boroughs combined, with Green Point, Bushwick Park Slope, Bed-Stuy and Flatbush as the neighborhoods with the highest incidents reported.
Residents near Hart Street in Bushwick, a hot spot for rats, tells News 12 they are fed up with the nuisance and hope the summit can make some change.
"I see them every night and they are not scared of people these things are more like cats, its crazy how many this neighborhood has said Bushwick resident Jasmine.
The policy will target parks, abandoned buildings and trash left sitting out and not containerized, a solution that residents say they are enthusiastic about.
"Just getting less trash is a start, because we see so much, and not fully emptied trash cans," said resident Jack Shin.