Sunday, August 15, 2010

Rats running rampant

From AMNY:

Four months after the city cut back on pest control workers, rats are having a field day everywhere from foreclosed homes in Queens to lower Manhattan construction sites.

A city program that clears garbage-strewn lots was cut by 75 percent in May, down to 21 workers from 84. It now takes pest control aides months to respond to 311 complaints about neglected properties, workers said.

Complaints about rat sightings are up 8 percent from last year, with 6,212 calls as of last month, according to 311 numbers.

In stretches of upper Manhattan and the boroughs, foreclosed houses and stalled construction sites have become dumping grounds that attract pests, according to local officials.

The Queens pest workers get at least two-dozen complaints about filthy lots a day, of which the borough’s two workers can only respond to one... The aides clean up properties when the landlord refuses to do so, and then issue fines.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is definetely a problem here on Pearson Street. I have complained about a stalled construction site forever and no one ever soes anything. The rat problem has exploded and it is not right tha the city does nothing.
- The Long Island City Native

Anonymous said...

Doesn't DSNY handle lot cleaning? There are stalled construction sites all over Elmhurst/Woodside. They finally demolished a vacant home that had been unoccupied for around 5 years.

They used to use the driveway only to park vans and small trucks. You can imagine how many rodents were in there since it is next to the CSX freight line tracks.

Anonymous said...

Buy your air carbines now.

cherokeesista said...

The rat problem has Exploded because People are NASTY!!! Rats, Roaches and Bedbugs:( Damn we are so Vibrant and Diverse:( Dirty People are the problem!!!!

Anonymous said...

We have a rat infestation here in Great Neck, and it is due to the fact that there are no baiting procedures used when homes are demolished. The Nassau County Department of Health makes a visual inspection. I guess they're blind. NO one is doing a thing about it, other than telling us we should take measures to keep from "attracting" them to our property. Soon there will be more rats here than human beings.