Ratdemic Hits the East Village

Courtesy NY1

After crawling through the Upper East and Upper West sides, the city's Ratdemic has apparently hit the East Village. Residents of 355 East 10th Street say the rodents have been creeping through the walls, ceilings, elevators and halls nonstop. One resident told NY1, "It's very bad. It's so bad that certain people can't even sleep because you're terrified. I mean this lady had 24 rats in the front of her kitchen. How can you live like that?" Now let's all let out a collective "EEEEWWWWW."

Workers removed 24 dead rats on Friday, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development says they've issued two citations against the landlord. But some residents can't tell which is worse: the rats or the toxic rat poison. One said, "It's disgusting. It's poisonous to their health...I mean just the fumes from the poison that they have put into the building is toxicating alone." Though if there are any injuries, residents could be seeing a hefty payout. Back in 2005, a landlord paid $800,000 to the family of a girl bitten by a rat that crawled into the bathroom through a broken tile.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on July 18, 2010 1:30 PM

Comments [rss]

Taco Renald

this really should have been a photo of Sad Rat. Viva Sad Rat!

wobbleSmith

are rats really that much of a revelation in the eVill? seems like every time i've hung out at any of my friends places down there over the last decade, every alley and courtyard has been crawling with them.

micilin

i've lived in the EV for the past 10 years and let me tell you I am NO stranger to rats. while i've never encountered them in my living space, i've seen them roaming in packs of 10 or more at night when garbage is out on the street, where there is construction or in and around community gardens. They never bother you really, but they don't really get out of your way either.

wingedearth

Get a cat. jeez.

LB

Cats stand no chance ! you would be better off with a dog.

Manitoba

Cats stand no chance against your average NYC rat.

henryhamilton

I once saw a rat the size of a large rat, but I TOXIFIED it.

ejpaw_1

One would put "toxicated" IN one's lexicon...

Subduction

What?

"One" could put toxicating in one's lexicon, or add it to one's lexicon. Both are correct.

Few things are worse than pedantry when it's wrong.

MisterPlow

He's making a play on the word INtoxicating, Einstein.

What's your quote about pedantry again?

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

I seen on NY! all the dead rats on the floor. It was so sad. Fucking disgusting filthy people who don't clean up and eat and eat and toss their trash on the floor. If they think the rat look fat then they need to look in the mirror. The rats are cleaning up all their shit. The rats are cleaner than people. They look dirty sometimes people they live in your dirty garbage.

Manitoba

I rarely agree with felix/youngpro/handsomedevil, but I do agree that rats wouldn't be such a problem if people weren't so filthy and wasteful.

The average NYC garbage can is a horn of plenty for a brood of rats. Or, ever see how much tasty garbage Wendy's tosses outside of its building on Bway near Houston every night? It leaks all over the ground, and rats go nuts until the garbage is picked up hours later. Plus, people toss food and garbage all over the ground, subway platforms, etc.

Reducing the amount of waste and garbage obviously wouldn't get rid of the pest issue in New York, but it would definitely help.

Where I disagree with felix/youngpro/handomsedevil is that I think all rats should be exterminated, followed by squirrels.

r1b2

Ok, Ewwwwwwww.

NannyState

Resident EVil.

Guest

i got the joke after 24 hours... d-rat!

Guest

jesus rat onna-stick: " *peta, peta, lama sabachthani?"

*which means, peta, peta, why have you forsaken me?

Mr. Know-It-All

I thought I noticed an increase in the rat carnage on the roads lately.

citybug

Gotta come down to Lower Manhattan around Fulton and Gold. Absolute misery. A trip through my neighborhood at night is just like an urban safari. It's not just the heat, all the damn construction and ripping up of sidewalks to put down new pipes and build several new parks in the area is causing major rat-sprawl. During a walk from Park Row to Gold Street, I counted thirteen rats - including one very angry one who kept hissing and following me. It's getting unbearable.