As human beings are fleeing New York City at a rate currently unmatched in the United States, a new creature is moving back in to take over the city.
Rats.
The reports of rat sightings in NYC are skyrocketing and have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
They crawled to the surface as the coronavirus pandemic roiled New York City, scurrying out of subterranean nests into the open air, feasting on a smorgasbord of scraps in streets, parks and mounds of curbside garbage. As diners shunned the indoors for outdoor dining, so did the city's rats.Now city data suggests that sightings are more frequent than they've been in a decade.Through April, people have called in some 7,400 rat sightings to the city's 311 service request line. That's up from about 6,150 during the same period last year, and up by more than 60% from roughly the first four months of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year.
The pandemic has brought out lots of New York rats, and that doesn't include Dr. Fauci.
In each of the first four months of 2022, the number of sightings was the highest recorded since at least 2010, the first year online records are available. By comparison, there were about 10,500 sightings in all of 2010 and 25,000 such reports in all of last year (sightings are most frequent during warm months). Whether the rat population has increased is up for debate, but the pandemic might have made the situation more visible.
Just another reason to flee New York City. The place is literally infested with rats.
Residents are absolutely fed up with failed policies to clean up the street.
It's the stuff of nightmares for Brooklyn resident Dylan Viner, who recently accidentally hit a dead rat with his bicycle. In recent months, he and friends have noticed a rise in the number of rats out in the open."I've always had a phobia of rats. I'm not squeamish about snakes or bugs - but rats, there's something about them," said Viner, a transplant from London, who likes to keep his distance from the vermin. "It's OK seeing them around the subway tracks. It's when you see one jump out in front of you and dash from a trash can to a dumpster or a restaurant ... that's when it makes you feel a bit squeamish."
He recalled taking a recent walk in the West Village, where a stride landed on one of the creatures."I screamed and ran," he recounted. The rat might have squealed, too."
Mine was so loud," he said, "that it's hard to know if it was mine or the rat's."
Just one more reason to follow Kurt Russell, AKA Snake, and Escape from New York!
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