Every New York City mayor in history has fought a war against rats. But for current mayor Eric Adams, the battle against the vermin has taken a strange turn as he tries to burnish his image as the city’s chief exterminator.
Adams went to a hearing officer Thursday — for the second time — to contest two tickets he got from the health department himself for allegedly allowing broods of rodents to live in a Brooklyn townhouse.
Reached by phone, Adams disputed the inspector’s findings that found rat holes along the fence and “fresh rat droppings” in front of the mayor’s trash can.
The city issued the summons Dec. 7, just one day after another hearing officer issued a $300 ticket earlier for failing to control the rat population on the same property. Each new ticket can also result in a fine of $300 or more.
The mayor, who usually prides himself on carrying himself with a little “swagger” when he appears in public, was polite and respectful during the hearing.
Adams denied he had a rat problem. His own inspection of the property, he said, turned up no signs of rats. Adams said he pays an exterminator every month and spent $7,000 a year ago to keep the property rodent-free. At one point, the mayor could be heard during a half-hour hearing searching electronic files for receipts and other documents to make his case.
Adams, a Democrat, also assured hearing officials that the city rules on how to handle trash and recycling.
“We all hate rats, and we all work together,” Adams said.
Several reporters listened as the mayor appeared surprised about the latest citation, saying some of the violations he observed were on neighbors’ properties.
City records show that Adams received at least 18 summonses over the years at the Brooklyn address, many related to waste handling. Many times he just paid the fine, but not this time.
The hearing officer told Adams that he would decide within 30 days if there was a fine.
In his first year in office, Adams launched a war on guns and homelessness — and the rats also proved an annoyance for the mayor who was currently interviewing applicants for the new director of rodent mitigation, a title he promptly called “rat czar.”
Before becoming mayor, Adams, as Brooklyn borough president, was known for his dislike of rats. He famously went belly up when he demonstrated a trap for reporters who relied on buckets filled with vinegar, a poisonous soup to drown rats thrown off by the scent of food.
The traps were not very effective, nor were other attempts by previous mayors to defeat the city’s rat population.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio spent tens of millions of dollars in efforts to reduce the rat population in targeted neighborhoods through more frequent garbage pickups, more aggressive house inspections and replacing dirt basement floors with concrete.
In a previous attempt that proved to be more funny than murder, city officials unveiled a plan to use dry ice to suffocate rats in their burrows but elicited guffaws when workers chased – but never caught – one of the fleeing vermin.
Adams has held press conferences to periodically treat rats as a scourge on New York society.
“Let’s be clear: I hate rats, and we have too many and we have to get rid of them,” said in June when announcing the proposed city spending plan.
In November, he signed legislation intended to reduce the city’s rat problem, including new rules that limit how long trash can sit on curbs and create what the city calls “rat mitigation zones.”
Not long after, he began looking for a mouse czar, who, according to the job description, would be “highly motivated and a bit thirsty.”
Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter that examines what leaders need to succeed. Log in here.