RATS! New York has always had a rat problem, but it appears to have worsened recently with the acute levels of construction and digging around the city: Now, a new city “rat squad” is launching an offensive against colonies in parks and sewers where rodents lurk and infest the surrounding neighborhoods. If you think rats are only a problem in less desirable areas, think again: I have witnessed tons of rats…..directly in front of the Plaza Hotel on tony Fifth Avenue.

Mayor de Blasio’s budget for the Health Department includes $611,000 to target the “rat reservoirs,” officials told the City Council on Tuesday. The department will hire 9 inspectors to hunt down and exterminate the reservoirs in neighborhoods in Manhattan and the South Bronx. Surely the bigger problem is the grossly outdated garbage system we have that provides the food for the rats? Until garbage is dealt with in a more 21st century manner, I doubt any number of inspectors will have much effect on this problem.   

While we often target the perpetrators of bad things, isn’t  it those that support and feed the perpetrators that are equally to blame, if not more so?