Home » News » Eric Adams joins free pest control training at NYC’s Rat Academy.

Eric Adams joins free pest control training at NYC’s Rat Academy.

What you should know

  • The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene offers free training on safe and effective methods to prevent the spread of rats through the Rat Academy.
  • The course has several dates, and Mayor Eric Adams will deliver a speech at the workshop being organized on Thursday in The Bronx.

New York — Mayor Eric Adams will be at one of the Rat Academy’s scheduled in-person classes Thursday, hosted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to learn safe and effective methods to prevent the spread of rodents.

Mayor Eric Adams has made rat eradication a key political goal for the city. In December, Adams even announced a new position in his administration.

Late last year, Mayor Adams signed a legislative package aimed at eradicating rats. One of the bills allows the city to significantly reduce the number of hours trash can sit on public sidewalks. Adams also announced the intent to hire a new “rat czar” to coordinate the city’s anti-rodent efforts.

New York City leaders have been trying to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results. Recently, sightings of rats in parks, sidewalks and other places in the city have increased.

According to data released by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), city inspectors documented twice as much rodent activity in 2022 than in 2021.

In all, city health inspectors documented about 60,000 cases of rodent activity in the five boroughs last year. That compares with about 30,000 rodent citations in 2021. The City Council blamed the doubling in rat sightings in part on the fact that health inspectors visited more properties last year than the year before. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Before the pandemic, in 2018, health inspectors recorded about 31,000 rodent sightings in 255,000 property visits. Last year, inspectors made about 5,000 fewer visits to the property, but still documented 93% more rodent activity than five years earlier.

The mayor successfully appealed a rodent activity citation issued in May 2022. But in December, an inspector issued his property two more rodent citations for “failing to eliminate a rodent infestation” and “failing to eliminate conditions that lead to rodent waste. Adams has insisted that he spent $7,000 to exterminate rats around his building and vowed to fight the latest summons.

RAT ACADEMY FREE CLASSES

Virtual

  • Wednesday, April 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

In person

  • Thursday March 23 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    Location: 830 Fox Street, Bronx
  • Tuesday March 28, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
    Location: Brooklyn Public Library, Greenpoint Branch, 107 Norman Avenue, Brooklyn
  • Thursday, April 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
    Location: Hot Jalapeno, 219 E. 116th Street, Manhattan
  • Virtual Rat Academy for Community Gardeners
    Friday, March 31, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

WHAT DO I LEARN IN THE COURSE?

This free three-hour course is open to anyone who wants to learn about rat management.

You can learn about safe and effective rat prevention methods in your home and community at one of our free scheduled trainings. This three-hour training is available to everyone, but can be especially helpful for:

  • Superintendents and construction personnel
  • Property managers and owners
  • neighborhood associations
  • community gardeners
  • Local business
  • Each training can be tailored to the audience and the neighborhood. Typically, this training course is organized and sponsored by a community partner or elected official.

To sign up for a community training or for more information on hosting or sponsoring a training, email ratportal@health.nyc.gov or call 3-1-1.

For more information you can search here.

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