NYC Rat Crossing Signs Highlight Growing Problem on Upper West Side (VIDEO)
A man living on the Upper West side of Manhattan has posted "Rat-Crossing" signs in his neighborhood after an outbreak in the area has reportedly gotten out of control.
Just two weeks ago, Joseph Bolanos found himself at the Rat Academy on West 76th St. alongside superintendants, restaurant owners, and others facing rodents problems. Bolanos is the president of his block association and has assumed responsibility for controlling the large number of rats that have begun to call the Upper West side their home.
"Now it's gotten to the point where people walk at night, and you'll hear screams and shrieks because they get startled by the amount of rats that are running across the sidewalk," he told a local NBC affiliate news station.
The move is a desperate plea to draw more attention to the growing issue, and not the first step that Bolanos has taken. The Manhattan borough president, who opened talks at the Rat Academy, is also aware of the issue.
"The rats on my block, they don't scurry anymore," Scott M. Stringer, who lives on West 71st Street, told students who attended the rat school. "They walk upright. They greet me and say, 'Good morning, Mr. Borough President.'"
The academy was developed to help residents deal with their rodent situations through education and proper trash receptacles.
"Rats can pretty much find everything they need nutritionally in the average New York City trash can or trash bag," Caroline Bragdon of the city's health department, told students, according to The New York Times.
"To get rid of rats, we've got to get rid of the food," she said. "The key for rat management for us is all garbage must be contained in a can with a tightfitting lid."
Residents on Bolano's block have already set aside funds for special compactor trash cans that they hope will mediate the problem. But in the meantime, while funds are being raised, rat signs will have to do.
