Residents of the well-heeled neighborhoods surrounding Central Park have a rat problem.
In the past four years, those living near Central Park have called in in 4,691 vermin complaints, according to the New York Post.
In fact, the Upper West Side is the most rat-plagued neighborhood in the city, with a 2,402 complaints in the 10023, 10024 and 10025 ZIP codes since 2010, according to 311 hot-line data cited by the Post.
“The rats are getting worse,” said Upper West Sider Ron Hoffman. “You see them running back and forth on the sidewalk.”
On the Upper East Side, 1,507 vermin complaints have been made since 2010.
“Even the nicest areas in the city have not been able to avoid rat infestations, which mimics thousands of years of history as rats have followed the trail of waste modern human settlements seem to inevitably leave behind,” said Matthew Combs, a Fordham University researcher. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron