New York City Hosts Inaugural Urban Rat Summit in Hopes of Combating Rodent Problem: ‘A Matter of Quality of Life’

The first Urban Rat Summit kicked off in New York City on Wednesday, with Mayor Eric Adams delivering the event’s opening speech, declaring a “war on rats.”

The two-day event will be held at Pier 57 in Manhattan and will feature government officials and scientists from cities across the United States and Canada.

“Wow, I didn’t realize so many people would come out to talk about rats,” Mayor Eric Adams said during his opening remarks.

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According to pest control company MMPC, there are about three million rats in New York City. The National Park Service reports that rats can also transmit pathogens such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, rat fever and salmonellosis to the human population.

“I am thrilled to welcome my fellow War on Rats generals to our great city for the inaugural National Urban Rat Summit,” said Mayor Adams in a press release. “We look forward to sharing new strategies and best practices for rat mitigation and containment during the summit.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made rat control a priority of his term, appointing Kathleen Corradi as the city’s rodent control director in April 2023. Last year, Adams also established a fourth “Rat Fighting Zone” in Harlem.

Another weapon in the “war on rats” is Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), who plans to recycle the 14 billion pounds of trash the city produces annually, ending the “all-you-can-eat rat smorgasbord.”

Mayor Adams calls the Big Apple’s rodent problem a “real quality of life issue,” and according to his opening remarks Wednesday, he’s spoken to city leaders around the world who share similar concerns.

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“I talked to the mayor of Paris where, you know, they just use their sewage system and they just, you know, throw their garbage in there,” Adams said. “So there are different methodologies for solving the real quality of life problem.”

Adams also shared anecdotes of residents who told horror stories about rats in their homes and around their families.

“I remember when I was chair of the board, a group of mothers came to me and showed me pictures of rats that were crawling into their children’s beds and eating food off their faces,” Adams recalled. “It affects our health and our mental stability.”

“And you can just imagine, you know, lifting the toilet seat in the morning and seeing a rodent come out or a trash bag. You take the trash, put it outside and see a rat running across your feet. You think about it all day long,” Adams said.

The City Summit will continue on Thursday, with a program focused on “the framework of challenges related to reducing rat infestation in cities, including parks, sewers, construction sites, social housing, yards and alleys, and garbage containers,” according to a press release from City Hall.

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“Thank you for coming. Let’s be energetic. Let’s share ideas. Let’s figure out how to unite against what I consider public enemy number one, Mickey and his crew,” Adams concluded.