However, it’s a war that feels almost impossible to win as the city’s rat problem is the worst it’s been in over a decade and reports expect NYC to end 2022 with more rat sightings as compared to last year.
New trash rules proposed back in October of this year called to push back trash takeout four hours in an effort to reduce the amount of time trash sits on sidewalks, reducing food for rats and improving cleanliness.
And now, Mayor Adams is calling for backup.
This past Wednesday, November 30, the city published a job listing for a Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation.
“Do you have what it takes to do the impossible? A virulent vehemence for vermin? A background in urban planning, project management, or government? And most importantly, the drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy – New York City’s relentless rat population? If so, your dream job awaits.”
Dubbed a “rat czar” by a City Hall spokesperson, the individual will be paid a salary of $120,000 to $170,000 to develop strategies, manage projects, and use hands-on techniques to exterminate rodents with authority and efficiency.
Qualifications include NYC residency, a Bachelor’s Degree, proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Though other qualifications are required that you don’t typically see when applying for a NYC job, such as a “swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor, and general aura of badassery.” Candidates also need to be “highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty.”
NYC is the country’s second “rattiest city“ according to data recorded between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022, and despite their “successful public engagement strategy and cheeky social media presence” (think: the viral video of NYC’s pizza rat which inspired a fellow New Yorker to run around the subway dressed as the hungry rodent), the city is reminding us that rats are not our friends.
Applicants for the rat czar role must submit a resume, cover letter, and three references to be considered.
To quote New York City’s Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch, “the rats don’t run this city, we do.”