NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The MTA reacted to video of a man scurrying through a subway car in a giant rat costume.
Video shows “Buddy the Rat” entering a 1 train at 42nd Street and then crawling along the floor and hopping up on a seat.
The video had nearly 100,000 likes on Twitter after it was shared by Alison Williams with the caption, “Oh NYC is dead? Explain this.”
The MTA retweeted the video, commenting: “Thank you for wearing a mask.”
The man behind the costume is said to be performance artist Jonothon Lyons, who has about 30 videos on TikTok.
Lyons said he created “Buddy the Rat” more than a decade ago and recently brought the character back for a short film.
"Some videos strangers took of us went viral the day after our shoot so I knew it was time for Buddy to hit the streets," Lyons told 1010 WINS. "And after all — it is the Year of the Rat."
Lyons has since been popping up around the city in the outfit. He said he thinks "the whole world could use something to smile about during this time."
How have people on the street reacted?
“Joy, fear, or radical indifference,” he said.