NYC has rat problem because of budget

[ensho]

Vermin are running amok on New York City streets and in subway tunnels, a Manhattan city official warned today. The rat problem is so bad that it is threatening public health and driving tourists from the city, claimed Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer. 'They don't want to come here and share their vacation with a New York City rat,' he said. He demanded $1.5million in 'rat control' be restored to the city's Health Department budget. The cut, he said, had forced the layoff of 57 pest control workers. That resulted in a spike of 1.5 per cent in complaints over the last year and damage to New York's appeal as a tourist destination. And, he said, the rampaging rodents are also a threat to public safety. 'I find this to be unacceptable because rodents are very dangerous to children and the quality of life of the city,' Stringer said. He said the cut 'makes no sense' as the city's pest control programme was collecting
around $6million in fines each year from building owners for pest-related health violations. Why would you make cuts to a programme that actually makes money for the city?' Stringer said. Unless the cuts are restored and the pest control force fortified, the rat control problem is only going to get worse, he said. City health spokeswoman Susan Craig said the layoffs have 'had no impact on the agency's ability to respond to rat complaints'. The city has adapted to the cuts by doing more comprehensive pest control sweeps of neighborhoods as opposed to responding to individual complaints, she said. 'Our new approach has allowed us to become better at discovering rat problems, better at notifying landlords about infestations and better at getting properties near each other to treat rat problems simultaneously,' she said.
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this info came from an email alert from rsoe.com

[dkf]

1. Isn't that a long standing problem?

A spike of 1.5% in complaints doesn't seem as significant as the spike they probably saw in bedbug problems earlier.

[smirkymonkey]

2. Bloomberg has suggested that we all pitch in and do our civic

duty by taking them home as pets. Of course they would have to be on a leash if we brought them outside.

[ensho]

3. lol good one

nt

[emilyg]

4. They've always had a rat problem.

[Hannah Bell]

5. bloomberg = chief rat

[RZM]

6. Rather misleading headline

Tweaking the budget in either direction probably won't make the problem much better or worse.

[Earth_First]

7. So does Albany, N.Y. n/t

[Generic Other]

8. Conservatives like rodents...makes them feel like they are in the company of friends

They wish to return to the days of the Black Plague.