New York gets a 'rat czarina' with a $155,000 salary
Mayor Eric Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city's first rodent mitigation director: "The rats are going to hate Kathy."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday the appointment of Kathleen Corradi as the city's first director of rodent mitigation.
The so called 'rat czarina' will have a salary of $155,000 per year and her task will be to organize joint strategies with government agencies, community groups and private sector businesses to address the city's rodent health problem and reduce the rodent population:
Corradi, who claimed to 'hate' rats, pledged to seek "the most effective technique" to mitigate the population and side effects generated by rodents in the city. She also thanked Mayor Adams for the trust placed in her to perform this task:
$3.5 million for rat mitigation in Harlem
Mayor Adams also announced performances of the new $3.5 million Harlem Rat Mitigation Zone to increase and accelerate rodent abatement work throughout that neighborhood:
This program allows private properties most affected by the rodent plague in Harlem to be inspected twice a year for rat-related health violations and if found in violation, to then be levied fines accordingly.
Although the number of rats in the city is currently unknown, a 2014 study estimated that at that time there were two million rats, one for every four inhabitants.