New York elects its first rat-fighting sheriff

The with the declaration of war on rats by Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, when he took office in early 2022, he was very serious. So much so that in December of that year, the City Council announced a job offer in search of a person with “killer instinct” and “bloodlust” to put an end to these animals that roam freely in the megacity, where studies show that it affects one in every four residents, although urban legend says that in reality there are more of them than registered people.

The new position already has an owner: Kathleen Corradi, a teacher and biologist who was introduced on Wednesday as the municipal director for rodent control. “There’s a new sheriff in town,” announced the chosen one.

A job offer that offered a salary of between $120,000 and $170,000 per year -salary will end up being 155,000 – to oppose these animals that cause so much hatred and disgust, he received numerous candidacies, but Corradio’s experience in this fight convinced Adams.

First “rat empress” has worked in the New York Department of Education to eradicate their presence in public schools, although their radar should now be extended to parks, alleys and subways, the subway, basements of buildings, warehouses… Rodents have taken off in recent years and In addition , due to pandemic restrictions – for example, closing the hotel industry for weeks – they became more aggressive.

A real problem for their human neighbors and a stain on tourism. This is why Corradi wants to implement innovative ideas cut off “food, water and shelter” these rodents.

The New York City Council’s war on rodents is such that it doesn’t just have this new position in the municipal organizational chart, but that Corradi –“rats will hate her”said Adams of her – she will have $3.5 million game to perform in Harlem. And that’s just for starters. The sheriff, who says he is not “bloodthirsty”, explained that her strategy will be based on denying them the “food, water and shelter” they need to survive with innovative ideas. She wants to involve New Yorkers in this task, as she did when she was a child and collected signatures for measures against these animals in her neighborhood.

Public Enemy Number One “New York may be known for Pizza Rat, but rats and the conditions that help them thrive will no longer be tolerated: no more dirty curbs, uncontrolled spaces or brazen dens,” the professor and biologist warned, referring to the viral a video in which one can be seen dragging a large triangle of pizza through the streets of the city.

Adams, who was a police officer before running for mayor for the Democratic Party, has labeled these rodents since his inauguration as public enemy number one. He did not hide his aversion at any moment, so, for example, on April 1, he signed a municipal proclamation that limited the time of garbage disposal on the sidewalks, with the intention of reducing the existence of these animals.

A New York City Councilman’s obsession with rat poison is so great that he even held a press conference just to present a trap in which rodents drowned in poison. Interestingly, his own government – the Department of Health, to be exact – fined him $300 last year for an infestation of these animals on a property he owned in Brooklyn. With Corradi sublime as a type of spotted cauliflower hopes there won’t be any more such infestations: “We’re excited to have Kathy ready for the rats to pack.”