(Bloomberg) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he’s winning the war on rats, and now he wants other leaders across North America to learn from his fight.
The embattled mayor, who in recent weeks has been rocked by the resignation of key allies and federal probes into his inner circle, said the city will host the National Urban Rat Summit this week. The event on Wednesday and Thursday will feature municipal rodent control experts and pest researchers from as far afield as New Orleans and British Columbia.
“We are giving rats the boot, driving down rat sightings, and improving quality of life across the five boroughs,” Adams said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to sharing new strategies and best practices for rat mitigation and reduction over the course of the summit.”
Adams has long been obsessed with the city’s rodent population and hired Kathleen Corradi as “rat czar” last year to spearhead a crackdown. His administration announced rules in July that would require trash to go into containers rather than plastic bags on the streets. The parks department has sought to limit rodents’ access to potential food sources and target the places where they burrow.
Rat sightings reported to 311 have dropped in 12 out of the 13 months since Corradi was hired, according to the city.
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