NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City posted a job for a “rat czar” committed to “wholesale slaughter” as Mayor Eric Adams escalates the war on the city’s burgeoning rodent population.
The city posted a rat pun–filled description of the job, director of rodent migration, to NYC.gov on Wednesday. The salary range is $120,000 to $170,000.
The post describes the position as “one of the most important tasks in city government.”
The ideal candidate should be “highly motivated,” “somewhat bloodthirsty” and have a “swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery,” according to the post.
“Do you have what it takes to do the impossible?” the description says. “A virulent vehemence for vermin? A background in urban planning, project management, or government? And most importantly, the drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy – New York City’s relentless rat population?”
Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi will directly oversee the position. She’s looking for a pied piper of sorts to take the lead in coordinating city agencies to reduce trash and use technology to target infestations.
“Bring them all together so we’re unified, we’re efficient,” Joshi told 1010 WINS.
The czar would find solutions to the rat problem through strategies like “improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management and wholesale slaughter.”
To that end, the city is experimenting with a pilot program using sensors.
“It’s a low-cost easy way for us to understand where there’s rat activity,” Joshi said.
While the job description is a bit tongue-in-cheek, Joshi said the rat infestation is a serious health, real estate and business problem.
The job posting comes as rat complaints were up 70% in the city in the first eight months of 2022 compared to two years ago.
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 on Thursday.
“Rat sightings are through the roof,” City Council Member Shaun Abreu warned at the time as the city struggles to get the issue under control.
1010 WINS reported in October that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene oversees rat and rodent issues but that they don’t proactively or routinely put out bait stations on city streets or use poison, instead reacting to citizen complaints.
In November, Adams launched a “Get Stuff Clean” initiative to target 1,000 high-need areas for cleanup.
Adams, who has repeatedly expressed his intense dislike for rats, said rodent hotspots would be one of the main targets of the cleaning initiative.
“There’s NOTHING I hate more than rats,” the mayor tweeted Thursday as he encouraged people to apply for the rat czar position.
“If you have the drive, determination, and killer instinct needed to fight New York City’s relentless rat population — then your dream job awaits,” he wrote.
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