Thank you to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for hosting a very informative online Rat Academy last week, sponsored by the BHA, the Cobble Hill Association and the Atlantic Avenue BID. And a special thank you to Amanda Nichols of the Cobble Hill Association for summarizing the session (see below). You can review all the slides from the presentation and see a full offering of the City's resources. One thing everyone can do is containerize their trash and use bins on the sidewalk instead of black trash bags. This will be required for residential buildings with 1-9 units in Fall of 2024, and the City is hoping to roll out official bins by then (with the requirement that the official ones are used by Summer 2026). But there is more we can do than just use containers - so please take the time to read the resources below to learn how you can help: For building residents: Pest Management Tips for Building Residents For property owners: Preventing Rats on Your Property For Rats not on your property: We encourage people to speak to neighbors first. However, there is always the option to Submit a Rodent Complaint Online Through 311. Additionally, this resource will tell you What Happens to Your 311 Complaint. One useful resource for seeing whether a particular location is being or has recently been inspected is the NYC Rat Map. You can view by a specific address or block, and see the inspection history for each property. Green means the property recently passed inspection, pink means it failed for signs of rat activity, and purple means it failed inspection for other reasons. The point of this map is not to shame neighbors, but to identify blocks where collective action is needed. This is a NEIGHBORHOOD issue. Rats will travel up to 150 feet for their food. So it's entirely possible they found a comfy place to live in your neighbors' planters, but they are getting their food source from the bags in front of your house. So let's work together to reduce the rat population of Brooklyn Heights! |
