Public Employee Press


Standing up for public services:
Rats are winning



Speaking in rat-infested Washington Heights, DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts and Local 768 President Fitz Reid pressed the Bloomberg administration to combat the city's soaring rat population by rehiring the 62 Pest Control Aides laid off last year.

They joined Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Springer and City Council member Ydanis Rod-riguez April 5 at a rally and news conference in Mitchell Square Park.

"It's outrageous that the city has failed to rehire the Pest Control Aides and Supervisors who were laid off almost a year ago," said Roberts. "This leaves fewer than 20 Pest Control Aides to battle the growing rat problem citywide." She pointed out that even after the City Council appropriated money to avert most of the layoffs, the Dept. of Health went ahead and fired the workers and devoted half the funds to a website "rather than responding to the needs of all New Yorkers."

The Washington Heights neighborhood has one of the worst infestations of rats in Manhattan, followed by the Lower East Side and West Harlem, according to health officials.

"The DOH claimed that getting rid of the PCAs would save the city $2 million, but the mayor's Office of Management and Budget estimated that by charging property owners for the PCAs' work cleaning filthy lots, the agency took in close to $6 million in fees," said Reid.

"You don't slash the ranks of public health workers in the front lines of fighting an epidemic," said Stringer, "but that's what the Health Department has done." Rat complaints are up 9 percent this year, and the infestation already threatens public health, especially for people suffering from asthma, other respiratory problems and allergies. About 144 million rats are born here every year, said Associate Political Action Director Lawrence Kenchen.

"If the city does not address the issue immediately, this health crisis will get worse," warned Reid.

— Alfredo Alvarado