Per the reader: "This area has always been a rat haven, but it has really gotten nuts since about early March."
In the video below, the rats are seen moving back and forth in front of Abetta, the longtime boiler and welding service, and a stray bag of garbage.
"Not sure where the garbage bags are from since it's not garbage day on First Street — nobody else has garbage out," the reader points out.
Some of the rats also jump up into the chassis and the wheels of the parked cars nearby.
"At one point I counted 12 rats while filming these videos. There are even some cute little baby rats."
See for yourself...
Residents can file rat and mouse complaints with 311 here. Whether the city might take corrective action is another story...
13 comments:
I remember years ago when I used to work the night shift and I would come home in the morning there where rats running around on first street between 1st and 2nd Avenue nothing new walk down the street at 5am there will be rat going through the garbage I assume they are coming from the subway
Rats and also a slew of junkies. I feel bad for the people who live on this street.
Yeah, I used to live on E. 1st, and the Rat population has ALWAYS been at crisis levels, but all complaints to the city fell on deaf ears. Recent rat activity could also be exacerbated by construction at Evan Blum's former Irreplaceable Artifacts lot on Second Avenue and Houston.
The city offers free rat prevention twice a month. It's open to everyone and you can attend as many times as you want. I got some helpful tips when I last took the course.
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/rats-control-training.page
It's a good idea to attend one of these sessions and ask questions - they really do discourage using poison and offer other ways to deal with the rats. If your situation is really bad, the DOH can assist. I found them to be surprisingly helpful.
Can we get the hawks down this way?
The rat population has also exploded on 12th Street between Avenues A and B. There are so many in that little park on B where they do the composting and there are so many in the part of the kiddie park that is next to that and also the larger garden next to it at night. There are also rats on the corner of 12th and A darting around and underneath the huge dining shed there. That's a new thing. Can anyone say, leftovers!
I don't know if Auriga is coming back- and I've certainly seen and reported rats under their dining shed on A between 12th and 13th. I know there's mixed feelings for Open Streets and these dining sheds need to have more regulations. There are far too many structures that are tilted at the bottom and allow rats to live underneath. I really appreciate that Fat Buddha got rid of their shed during this time due to rats taking refuge underneath.
Rats galore. Worst I’ve seen in years. 6th street between B and C is over run with them. The corner at Ave C is a garbage nightmare
traffic cops should work for the sanitation dept and ticket trash violations.. and sweep..
Anyone who walks their dog in the EV knows about the rat problem. When you go out in the evening, the rats come out. We don't see it so much during the day because rats are nocturnal creatures. It's not a new problem. Having lived in the EV for 50 years I can tell you that it was a problem back then and it is a problem today. It is not new. It is an urban problem. Face it, rats are far more adaptable than humans and they will continue to be a problem. Best anyone can hope for is to keep their buildings/basements free of edible garbage.
Outdoor dining in NYC might look less attractive after seeing many videos of these rats being part of the final setup when everyone is done with their outdoor meals for the day.
A famous urbanist whom I'm not going to name has been studying cities such as NYC and San Francisco for ages and has predicted the rise of the creative class responsible for this massive gentrification of NYC (and other cities) especially with Manhattan and certain parts of Brooklyn which are now considered elitist and cost prohibitive to live.
According to him people want to be in these places because creatives generate cultural and/or financial capital which in turn attract other creatives who create desirable amenities (top notch eateries and high end shops) for these creatives hence these areas are desirable. No one with ambition and a progressive outlook really wants to live in the boondocks stuck with a few places for dining and shopping.
However this pandemic has put a halt on NYC's gentrifying elitism which branded its inherent edginess, grittiness and these pesky urban critters as tolerable and even cool because NYC has more important things to worry about, showcase and acknowledge, namely, culture, prestigious and lucrative careers. Now that these things aren't the main points of focus in NYC due to the pandemic, we are now stuck with these inherent attributes which are undesirable on their own and people might want to move and have been moving to areas that are the opposite of edgy, gritty and free of urban rats.
Fyi...about 1000 bucks to fix wiring in you car and cleN your engine.
get rid of the restaurant shacks, what made this problem insane, and you will have a good start.
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