Dunno about you, but I've noticed an increasing number of rats in Tompkins Square Park of late. Well, not quite return to the bad old days of July 2011.
Not really a surprise. After all, it is Hey-Let's-Buy-A-Pizza-and-Leave-Half-of-it-in-the-box-and-leave-the-Park-to-get-drunker season.
Plus, it's spring.
Back in March, The Villager reported that Park officials had brought Ratstravaganza under control. Park officials have certainly done a lot to curb the rat population.
12 comments:
I walk my dog every day in the park and about 4 times a week I see different people feeding pigeons. So it isn't just the crazy pigeon lady.
I also am loathe to say it but the litter problem isn't only from the "Hey-Let's-Buy-A-Pizza-and-Leave-Half-of-it-in-the-box-and-leave-the-Park-to-get-drunker" folks" some of it comes from the people that are on the bread line and just leave their plates on benches or on the floor. As well as the pigeon feeders.
So - there are many different contributions to this problem. With that said - how can the problem be solved, or at least maintained as the weather warms up? Because the school children "don't litter" guilt drawings didn't do much.
Very true, Victoria. A lot of people contribute to the problems that attract rats. I was being a little jokey about the pizza crowd; plus I did actually just see this twice last weekend.
I liked the "feed a pigeon, breed a rat" signs. But they aren't so effective either...
Its all the gutter punks and homeless people. They treat the park like a giant toilet/garbage can. And just this morning while walking my dog I noticed two people in the bread line just throw their trash at their feet.
Ke$ha and pals!
rats are so gross
has anyone done outreach to the people or groups who organize the aid distribution lines and other vital support services to the less fortunate to either educate their clients about not littering or for they themselves, the providers, to pickup after their clientele. seems like a better choice than vilifying the down and out. not sure what to do about the drunken pizza crowd. that problem seems a bit more intractable.
We just discovered a new twist to the EV rat problem--we were driving our car (which we park on the street) to pennsyvlania, when the engine light went on. When we got there, my husband popped the hood only to see a rat disappear into the engine! The mechanic called it a "mickey mouse" job and says it happens all the time in manhattan--the rat chewed 1200 fucking dollars worth of damage to the wiring!
Everyone litters in that park! I saw red the other day when two dumbass teens were eating a bagel and just tossed their garbage over their shoulder and they were literally sitting right next to the trash can. I also will never let my child play in that sandbox in the playground good lord
If the Parks Dept wants to hire my cat, he is available. ;)
i'd like to see someone transplant a human brain into a rat's body.
This past weekend, I saw an elderly women feeding bread to pigeons near the Avenue A playground (inside the gated area at Ave A and 9th Street). I politely asked her to stop, telling her that she was inadvertently feeding the rats. She starting screaming at me that she was a holocaust survivor and knew what it was like to be hungry (to be a hungry pigeon?). I told her that I didn't think that gave her grounds to risk the health of the kids and dogs who use the park and can get bitten by the rats. We exchanged a few more unpleasantries, but at least she stoped. Everyone needs to speak up when they see people feeding the pigeons/rats or leaving food around (not jusdt post a complaint here -- which is nice too, of course). Without a group effort to stop their behavior, the rule-breakers will ruin our park again after all that effort to improve it last year.
We got rats on the east side, bedbugs uptown, what a mess, this town's in tatters!
Mick was a prophet, who knew.
Post a Comment