Rats! New York mayor fined $300 over rodents at Brooklyn property

In the latest round of his long battle against rats, the New York mayor, Eric Adams, scored a split decision on Tuesday when a hearing officer dismissed one summons while upholding another citing Adams for not doing enough to keep rodents at bay at his Brooklyn townhouse.

Adams was fined $300. A spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said the mayor was “grateful” one summons was dismissed and would consider his options about the second.

Levy said: “One decision is clear, however: the mayor still hates rats.”

Even as Brooklyn borough president, Adams was known for his dislike of rats. He famously demonstrated to reporters a trap that relied on a bucket filled with a vinegary, toxic soup to drown rats lured by the scent of food.

Like every attempt by previous mayors to vanquish the New York rat population, the trap was not very effective.

Last fall, Adams began looking for a rat tsar.

“Let’s be clear,” he said. “I hate rats, and we have too many of them and we have to get rid of them.”

But even in a city where some consider rats Public Enemy No1, the mayor’s troubles continue to be the source of much amusement.

Noting the thousands of dollars Adams has invested in addressing his rat problems, the officer at his hearing on Tuesday credited the mayor for taking “credible” steps at his rental property.

But the officer admonished the mayor for not sufficiently heeding his own health department’s advice for the proper disposal of trash and recyclables, saying “the presence of several bags on the ground could provide shelter or protection for rodents, which amounts to a harborage condition”.

For that offense, the hearing officer ordered the $300 fine.

Adams contested the two summonses he got on on 7 December, a day after another hearing officer dismissed a $300 ticket for failing to control rats at the same property.

In the December hearing, Adams contested the findings of an inspector who found rat burrows along a fence line and “fresh rat droppings” in front of garbage bins.

Adams denied he had a rat problem, telling the officer his own inspections produced no signs of rodents. The hearing officer was swayed by the the mayor’s argument he had made good efforts to address rodents at the property.

Adams said he paid an exterminator monthly and spent $7,000 a year ago to keep the property rodent-free. He produced receipts.