New York City is losing the rat war in the iconic green space — where the vermin are so brazen, they routinely raid baby strollers for snacks at a besieged playground for toddlers, The Post found.
And after the rotating posse of at least a dozen “guinea pig” sized rats is done ransacking strollers at Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground at West 67th Street, some will defiantly frolic by the jungle gym near young kids, disgusted parents told The Post.
“Every single day that I go to play with my son, there will be one, two, three [rats], scurrying around and even jumping up in an area where our kids are eating their snacks. They have no shame,” said Upper West Side mom of a 3-year-old son, Amy Meyers.
Meyers, 48, said the “scariest part” about the invasion is that “rats could end up in our homes.”
“It’s disgusting. I’m actually quite nervous for my child to be playing here, because rats carry diseases and whatnot,” Meyers said.
One brave mom last week snapped a revolting photo of a beady-eyed interloper casually sitting on a carriage wheel after gobbling whatever snacks it could find in the stroller.
Meyers said she’s even heard about moms or caretakers who have found rats, “as they were leaving the park, still inside their stroller.”
And another mom said she’s seen hangry rats make “mini lunging motions” toward two tots gobbling a snack.
Rattled mom of two Lauren was aghast when she first saw the rodents hop from carriage to carriage near the playground’s entrance.
“I saw a rat crawl into the seat of a stroller one day in July, and I called out, ‘Who’s stroller is this?’ And two weeks ago, I saw a rat crawling around the bottom of a stroller,” Lauren recalled. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photo courtesy of Jane Sherwin |
Upper West Side District 6 Councilmember Gale Brewer has gone back and forth with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene over the bird and rat swarm issue at the 96th Street Broadway median.
“The pigeons are fed by over a dozen people daily starting at 6 AM. The pigeons have become familiar with the routine and congregate at set times throughout the day. They create a major health hazard at this location,” Brewer wrote in the letter to the city agency this month, shared with West Side Rag. “Renovating and repairing the building [Broadway Malls storage building at the 96th Street median] would be an asset to the community and could include measures to prevent the feeding and the pigeons.”
Brewer also provided a photo of a woman scattering crumbs and seeds at the location.
Maura Kelly, the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Health, responded to Brewer’s letter on August 20.
“While it is not illegal to feed pigeons or other wildlife, feeding pigeons or other wildlife contribute to the feeding of rats,” Kelly wrote. “We have been working closely with the Parks Department to address some of the issues at this site that have allowed rats and pigeons to proliferate. We ask that local leaders help us get the word out about the harms of pigeon feeding and encouraging constituents not to do it.” --->READ MORE HEREFollow link below to a relevant story:
New York City: Garbage and Rats Walking Tour
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