The new de-paned Apple Cube by Grand Army Plaza won't be revealed until November but some four-legged fans just can't wait. As far as the Daily News is concerned there is an epidemic of rats-the-size-of-rabbits currently inhabiting the park in front of the Plaza Hotel.
The News found a handful of people who say the rats at Grand Army Plaza (the Manhattan one, the Brooklyn one had its rat problem last year) are out of control—"Compared to last year, it's off the scales," one hansom driver told the tabloid—but the city doesn't quite buy it. "Neither Parks nor the Central Park Conservancy has received any complaints or seen an increase in rat activity at Grand Army Plaza," a spokesman for the city Parks Department said. However, just in case, they promise they are "maintaining and monitoring the area on a regular basis."
But whatever the city says, the tabloid seemed to have no trouble snapping pics of the fearless rodents—and coming up with a theory as to why there are so many. Though some hansom drivers blame the population boom on messy tourists leaving foodstuffs lying around, "on a recent late night visit, the Daily News found the rats feasting on remnants of horse feed, while the sidewalks were relatively clean of trash and the wire-mesh trash pails were lined with heavy black bags."
This is by no means the only recent report of rodents run wild in a city park. A group of parents downtown recently made much noise about the rats invading Tompkins Square, a problem exacerbated by the fact the city won't put down rat poison for fear of harming a red-tailed hawk. But look on the bright side—as long as you don't get bitten—all these rats will just mean more fun for Rat Busters NYC when it hits the tube, right?
