A map shows every single property in New York City that failed its last rat inspection—and there are many.
The city’s infamous rat problem does not seem to be going away, despite multiple measures to try and deal with the estimated three million rats swarming New York.
The NYC Health Department has a dedicated rat information portal that has mapped out recent inspections’ details.
Streets, properties and areas fail these inspections if “active signs of rat and mice activity, or conditions conducive to rodent activity” were observed.
The number of spots that failed their last inspection is too many to count, but they include: Pier 14 and 15 on South Street, a City Hall Park on 52 Chambers Street, John V. Lindsay East River Park on Grand Street, Baruch Playground on 288 Delaney Street, multiple other nearby properties, Tompkins Square Park, on 144 Avenue A, James J Walker Park, on 410 Hudson Street and Madison Square park, on 2 Madison Avenue.
Several of these places have not received treatment from the NYC Health Department for almost 10 years, with one property on East 45 Street not visited since 2015.
The City’s efforts to deal with the rat problem have included appointing the first-ever rat czar Kathleen Corradi, with a 3.5 million budget behind her to reduce the city’s rampant rat population and even rodent birth control at one stage.
Rodent expert Bobby Corrigan, who has been featured in the documentary Rat City, told Newsweek: “I’ve seen very, very bad rat-infested blocks transform from bad to minor (never zero) over the course of a month or two when the residents and businesses of an area put their collective minds and efforts together and also seeking guidance from city purview agencies.
“Mostly this is achieved by the efforts to eliminate the reason that rats temporarily love a block, an area, a property, a park, etc., and that is and will always be: better food refuse management.”
He believes the City should focus on using these methods, instead of extermination campaigns.
Just last weekend, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced the launch of the NYC Rat Pack and called on New Yorkers to sign up.
Folks who want to be part of the group must attend a two-hour New York City Department of Health Rat Academy session, participate in a New York City Service rat mitigation event—these often include cleaning parks and sealing rat entry points—and go out on a rat walk, when Corradi takes volunteers on a walk and educates them on rat biology and their impact on the urban environment.
Adams said: “We need you to help reduce the rat population in our city, and the rat swag will be your badge of honor as you walk through your communities. They know you’re doing something great to keep our city clean and the streets clean.”
She also cited some figures to show there has actually been improvement in the rat situation, saying sightings in the city have gone down in 12 of the last 13 months.
Adams went on to refer to New York’s new program, which introduced trash cans for people to put their rubbish in, as opposed to dumping it in plastic bags on the street.
“Our massive trash revolution strategy is getting millions of pounds of rat-attracting trash off our streets,” she said.
