NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams' war on the city's rat problem has hit home.
Adams is facing a $300 fine for a rat infestation at his Lafayette Avenue rental property in Bedford-Stuyvesant, telling 1010 WINS anchor Susan Richard on Wednesday that he spent $6,800 fighting the vermin on his entire block.
"I spent $6,800 because every New Yorker knows by now I hate rats, and I'm looking to kill and get rid of rats in the city," he added.
Adams claimed that there has been a rat issue on the block "for far too long" and that he has educated the residents, who all "chip in."
"We all take all the steps that are possible to try to deal with the rat problem," he said.
Adams attended a virtual court hearing on Tuesday to contest the May fine after failing to respond to the initial summons and then repeatedly missing his court dates, the New York Times reported.
"I want every New Yorker, if you feel you get a fine, that you should not have, use the right system to appeal that fine," he said, adding that even if he's the mayor, he's "still a New Yorker" who "did the right thing to deal with the rat problem" on his block.
Adams had been found in default violation of the summons by the Office of Administrative Trials and Sessions because he had skipped past hearings. According to the Times, he hired Rahul Agarwal, the deputy chief counsel in the mayor's office, rather than a private attorney, to handle the fight.
Fabien Levy, the mayor's spokesman, told the paper that Adams always intended to represent himself at court hearings.
The Adams administration has made efforts to fight the city's burgeoning rodent population a top priority.
In October, the city announced that residents and businesses would be required to put their trash out four hours later starting in April 2023 to reduce the time rats can access curbside garbage. The city Department of Sanitation posted the final rules for the plan last Thursday.
He also announced the hiring of a "director of rodent mitigation," a high-paying City Hall role for someone who's "highly motivated," "somewhat bloodthirsty" and has a "swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery."
Adams added that he has taken on the issue since estimates show there are about three times as many rats as New Yorkers – a problem that has "been ignored."
"The math is simple," he said. "We have a rat problem, and we're going to get that rat problem under control."
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