NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The rat race is over! New York City has found its “rat czar.”
Kathleen Corradi, who currently works for the Department of Education, will now lead the city's efforts to control the city's growing rodent population, Mayor Adams announced Wednesday.
"You'll be seeing a lot more of me — and a lot less rats," she told reporters in Harlem's St. Nicholas Park on Wednesday morning, months after Adams made headlines for announcing the job opening.
"Pizza rat may live in infamy, but rats and the conditions that support their thriving will no longer be tolerated in New York City," Corradi said. "No more dirty curbs, unmanaged spaces or brazen burrowing. There’s a new sheriff in town. And with your help, we’ll send those rats packing."
Corradi comes to the post, formally titled "director of rodent mitigation," after leading the DOE's rat-reduction efforts in 120 buildings across Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.
"During those years, I spent a lot of time looking for signs of rats and working to end the conditions that allow them to thrive," the former elementary school teacher said. "Due to those efforts, nearly 70% of schools with persistent rat issues reached their compliance goals."
Corradi said that she would use a "science and systems-based approach" to combat the rodents, with a focus on "cutting off the food, water, and shelter rats need to survive."
Corradi was the department's sustainability manager until November 2021, when she was promoted to director of space planning, her LinkedIn profile shows.
Her work fighting rat populations earned her the "Neighborhood Rat Reduction Award" as part of her work in the DOE's sustainability office, according to a 2018-2018 DOE report.
Adams said Wednesday that he had personally interviewed Corradi for the job.
"New York City has done a lot recently when it comes to fighting public enemy number one: rats. But it was clear we needed someone solely focused on leading our rat reduction efforts across all five boroughs," the mayor said in a city news release Wednesday.
The hiring announcement on Wednesday came as Adams touted a $3.5 million investment to expand and accelerate rat reduction across Harlem.
As part of this effort in Harlem, private properties will be inspected twice a year for rat-related violations and issued violations, the release said. City locations will be inspected monthly.
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