NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- This was New York, and the rat race was on.
1010 WINS VIDEO: Rats Run Rampant
About a dozen rats were having a grand old party, scampering around the floors of a KFC and Taco Bell restaurant, playing with each other and sniffing for food as they dashed around tables and children's high chairs.
Onlookers could not keep their eyes away from the jaw-dropping sight -- a gang of urban vermin invading a restaurant that had been taking people's chicken and taco orders just a day earlier. Video of the rats was seen around the world, disseminated on TV stations and the Internet.
"They should handcuff them and throw the dirty rats in jail,'' cabbie Wilson Paul said as he pulled over to gawk.
"All you can eat once the store is locked,'' one onlooker joked.
The scene played out Friday morning after a TV crew discovered the rat infestation and began filming through a window of the Greenwich Village building. Word began to spread, health inspectors arrived, and the parent company for KFC and Taco Bell -- still smarting from last year's E. coli scare -- was forced again into damage-control mode.
The restaurant was not open at the time, and the company said construction in the basement on Thursday appeared to have stirred up the rats.
"Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our customers. This is completely unacceptable and is an absolute violation of our high standards,'' the parent company for the restaurants, Yum Brands, Inc., said in a statement.
Rats have long been a problem in New York City, with such a dense population and such a large and readily available food supply for the rodents. They are frequently seen scampering through subway tunnels, rooting through trash, dashing across parks and burrowing into the walls of apartment buildings.
Greenwich Village tends to be a happy home for them because of its combination of older buildings and a tangle of subway lines converging just below street level.
Still, it is rare to see so many rats congregating in one place in such public view.
The city Department of Health had inspectors at the site on Friday for hours, and by midday had posted a sign that read "CLOSED.''
"Today, this establishment had serious unsanitary conditions,'' said Carol Feracho, a senior health inspector.
"There were issues with vermin throughout.''
She said the infestation was "coming from the building,'' with ``openings'' that allowed the vermin to enter. She provided no other details.
There was no answer at the phone number displayed in neon on the store window below the words, "We Deliver.'' Department of Health spokeswoman Sara Markt said agency records list the franchise owner as ADF Fifth Operating Corp. The owner could not be reached for comment, despite numerous efforts.
The franchise owner "is actively addressing this issue,'' the parent company's statement said, adding that the restaurant will remain closed until the problem is "completely resolved.''
Joel Cohen, who lives in the building next to the restaurant, had a graphic view of the situation.
"I'm living over the place that is feeding the rats of New York City,'' said Cohen, who works in real estate. "This place is a disaster. They throw their rubbish in the doorways. It's loaded up with food in bags that are not tied, and the rats have eaten through the bags.''
Gregory Moore, a retired city administrator who lives on a nearby street, called the situation "pretty horrendous. The rats have made a grand play here.''
Last week, it was reported that Taco Bell sales had slumped after a widely publicized E. coli scare, but that international sales helped Yum Brands in the company's fourth quarter.
The E. coli outbreak late last year caused more than 70 Taco Bell customers to become ill. Federal officials said in December that the most likely source of the illnesses was lettuce. Taco Bell took precautions by changing its suppliers of lettuce and cheese in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Yum Brands stock closed Friday at $60.51, down 55 cents.
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