Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene  (DOHMH) Commissioner Thomas Frieden today announced the expansion of an effective rat abatement program in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to target areas in three Boroughs.  In addition, the Mayor also announced a new rodent abatement task force focused on prevention that will ensure effective and coordinated strategies to control the City’s rat population. Joining the Mayor and Commissioner at the announcement in Hope Ball field in Bushwick was Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

“Today I am proud to announce that we are expanding a program that has been effective in controlling the rodent population in Bushwick,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Rats are tough, hardy creatures and as long as there have been cities we have had rats.  New York City’s fights with these vermin is longstanding and ongoing and we will never fully eradicate them, today we have a program that we know works well and we are going to expand it.”

“While the rat population can never be completely eliminated, it can be significantly reduced and controlled,” said Commissioner Frieden. “There has been a steady increase in the number of inspections and exterminations performed – a 60% increase over the past 3 years. With increased resources for this rodent abatement initiative, and with our ongoing data-driven strategic approach to rodent control, we expect to perform more than 150,000 exterminations and inspections by the end of this fiscal year.”

“I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Frieden for launching this innovative pilot program because this is one battle that we simply can't afford to lose,” Borough President Markowitz said.  “Rodents are not only a health risk, but they also devastate morale and destroy our quality of life.  This is a great example of the City and local groups working together for the good of the community.  Creative programs like this one tap into the activism that flourishes throughout our City.  This approach involves both the community and effective strategies, and is proving to be an effective high-tech tool in attacking this age old problem.”

“It is clear that successful rat abatement requires both government action as well as the participation of individual citizens,” said Councilmember Reyna.  “I am grateful to the Bloomberg administration for taking the necessary steps to address the rat problem here in Bushwick.”

The pilot Bushwick rat abatement program was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and run by the City’s Health Department. The program, which began over a year and a half ago, was carried out in a 48-block area. DOHMH has done extensive outreach and education with community residents, has conducted aggressive inspection of virtually every building and home in the area, and provided landlords with specially designed rat-resistant garbage receptacles. Exterminators have gone into scores of homes in Bushwick to seal holes in walls and ceilings and around pipes, and to clean and exterminate areas of infestation.

Bushwick was chosen to pilot this initiative because it had one of the highest rates of rat complaints in the city. The program has been effective: over the last year and a half, there has been a nearly 40% increase in the number of properties that inspectors determined are in compliance with the law and that are effectively rat-proofed.  The program is expanding to cover a roughly 400-block zone in Bushwick and other parts of Brooklyn. 

Other efforts will be focused in three areas of the City where there have been a consistently high volume of complaints about rodents, including calls to the 3-1-1 citizen’s service hotline, as well as the greatest number of failed housing inspections and other indicators of rodent infestation. Areas to be targeted include Concourse Village, Melrose and Highbridge neighborhoods of the South Bronx, as well as East Harlem in Manhattan. These are the areas where there have been a large percentage of housing inspections showing evidence of on-going rodent activity. In addition to the $12 million per year rat control budget, the City is purchasing 8,000 new rat-resistant garbage containers to be distributed in these targeted areas.

In addition to the expansion of the abatement program, the Mayor has asked Susan Kupferman, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations, to head the City’s rodent abatement task force. The Health Department will be the lead agency.  The task force will be comprised of the Office of Emergency Management and the Departments of Sanitation, Housing Preservation and Development, Law, Parks and Recreation, Education, Environmental Protection, Citywide Administrative Services, Design and Construction, and Buildings. The NYC Housing Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will also join this initiative.

The task force will address such issues as successful initiatives and lessons learned, best practices, creation of checklists for residents and landlords, and community education.  To ensure the success of the task force, the City is committing additional resources to the war on rats.  DOHMH will also increase inspections in target areas and extra exterminators will also be assigned to these areas. 

What Residents Can Do
In order to eliminate rats, you must cut off their access to food and water sources and make sure there is no place for them to get in and out of homes. Additionally,

• Dispose of garbage properly.  Do not litter on the street, or in public places such as parks or in the subways.
  
• Store all food in airtight containers.
  
• Keep food preparation areas clean, including counters and stove tops.
  
• Sweep and mop floors to remove all food crumbs.
  
• Fix any leaks or dripping faucets.
  
• Do not leave houseplants sitting in pools of water.
  
• Wipe sinks, showers, and baths dry each night.
  
• Repair cracks in walls, under floors, and in ceilings.  To plug a rat hole, place wires mesh (copper, stainless steel, or aluminum) in the hole and then cover with spackle or a sealant that hardens.
  
• Remove clutter, where rats prefer to live and breed.

For more information or to file a rodent complaint call 3-1-1 or visit nyc.gov/health.