Rats are running rampant in New York City like never before.
According to new government data, rat sightings across the city have increased by 71 percent since this time in 2020. By the end of September, there were more than 21,000 reports.
Rat complaints initially spiked in 2021, the New York Daily News reported, with many blaming their population surge on the outdoor dining structures that had been built amid the pandemic. But even as some restaurants have reeled in their outdoor dining sheds, the problem with the vermin has not gone away — in fact, many city residents would agree that it has only gotten worse.
Over the summer, New York City Council members presented a five-point "rat action plan" to solve the issue, which includes rat-proof trash bins. It's expected to pass sometime in October.
The Department of Sanitation also pitched an idea in July: changing the times trash is hitting the curbs at night, so the waste is not out as long and giving rodents less time to smell and go after it.
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Currently, garbage can go to the curb at 4 p.m. the day before it is scheduled for collection. But the DSNY wants New Yorkers to start putting out their trash later at night, around 8 p.m.
Their idea does come with an exception: If the refuse goes into a can or bin, it could be put out a little earlier, at 6 p.m. The department believes that by limiting the amount of time the garbage is out on the street, the rats will be seen less and have less access to food.
