The age-old question about whether or not there really is one rat per New Yorker arises in today's NY Times City Section. While the number of rats hasn't been officially counted, the Times answers:

As for “one rat per person,” that is a myth that has persisted for at least 100 years. As Robert Sullivan noted in his 2004 book, “Rats,” a naturalist named David E. Davis analyzed New York’s rat population in 1949 and called the one-rat-per-human statistic absurd. (The statistic had come from 19th-century England and was never more than a guess.) more ›

The irony of it all! City Comptroller William Thompson says that the Department of Health response time for checking out rodent complaints generally lags. Though the Department of Health (and Mental Hygiene) has been improving its efforts, including starting the Rodent Control Initiative Program to rid particularly troubled areas of pests, the average time it takes the DOH to inspect a complaint is 30 days. Which isn't that good when we think about it, because the gestation period for a brown rat is just 21-23 days. The Comptroller also recommends better monitoring of rodent complaints, as many of them may be duplicated. The DOH agreed with the findings, but noted that rodent complaints had increased greatly. It's been said before, but why not have some super hungry cats prowl the streets? more ›

One of the Health Department's big initiatives has been to help New Yorkers quit smoking, and it's been working, especially with the smoking ban and the cigarette tax. However, after looking at numbers that reflect a slight rise in smokers between 2004 and 2005, the Department of Health would like another cigarette tax to hit its goal of 250,000 more former smokers. Health Commissioner Tom Friedan said, "It is now more critical than ever that New York State grant New York City the authority to raise the city's tobacco tax." To the tune of 50 cents, smokies! But don't fret too soon - amNew York says that it's unlikely that Albany will allow the tax. amNY also recalls a quote from Representative Charles Rangel: "If a guy makes a million dollars and a guy makes $10,000 they pay the same taxes on cigarettes... It is regressive." more ›

Gothamist loves our readers. Check out this email we received, subject titled "The Rats are Real," in response to our post yesterday about the Upper West Side rat situation:

Dear Gothamist, more ›

LAist editor Jason Toney was in town, and he captured this photograph of one of the city's fixtures. And some thoughtful passer-by made sure the bloated rat wouldn't be lonely on the street until the Department of Sanitation swept him up. Even though Gothamist is not always excited to see a rat, we have to say this is a pretty great, if gross, picture. more ›

Just in time for SXSW, we have launched Austinist. While Gothamist hopes there will be copious coverage of the bats, the site, edited by Ben Brown, will be covering all sorts of things in the indiest town in Texas. Like the big Whole Foods, looking out for stupid antics from Real World roommates (currently filming there), or secret SXSW shows. Brown is also speaking at the SXSW panel, Humor on the Web. We are so happy to finally have a foothold in the South and look forward to working on our accent and Slacker ennui! Or we'll commute to Initech. more ›