Bk'lyn Rat Problem Increases, Web Site Aims to Help
NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- Some Brooklyn residents, especially those living in the new hip neighborhoods, are looking for a pied piper to help rid them of rats.
A new city Health Department web site that tracks rats reveals that Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Brooklyn Heights have more rats than central and south Brooklyn.
Health department officials offer at least one explanation for the rodent problem -- more people, more garbage, more rats.
The new city rat-tracking web site which was set-up about two weeks ago was designed to raise awareness and equip New Yorkers a better tool to combat the rat problem.
``It's (the web site) so they can better understand what's expected of the people in charge but also what they can do to help push it along,'' said Dan Kass, an assistant commissioner of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The rat portal, which also offers everything from photos of rat droppings to tips on choosing an exterminator, is the city's latest move to turn up the heat on the rodents.
In recent years, the city has dispatched inspectors with handheld computers to canvass neighborhoods for signs of the vermin, hired a renowned rodent expert and stepped up efforts to evict the pests from parks.
According to the latest sighting statistics, the neighborhoods with the worst rodent problems are: Bushwick/Ridgewood, with 770 rats, and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Stuyvesant Heights with 595 rats.
Last year, Manhattan had the highest number of rat cases more than 3,750. Inspectors in the Bronx found 3,000 to 3,750 rats and Brooklyn ranked third with 1,500 to 3,000 rats.
The increase of rodents in Brooklyn Heights surprised one resident.
"I always thought this was a nice neighborhood, that we didn't have that problem here," she said.
Another less surprised resident tells 1010 WINS:
"Listen this is Brooklyn...there are rats," he said.
TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & Copyright 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. TheAssociated Press contributed to this report.
Money Markets and More for Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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