If you’re a New Yorker, you probably have a rat story. 

“I commute on Citi Bike to my business on 20th from Murray Hill and on my ride I encounter two to three dead roadkill rats a day,” said Manhattan resident Edwin Pabon.

“Walking with Pearl, my dog. All of a sudden, a rat will come out of nowhere and she’ll just lunge at it. Having my left arm yanked out,” said Manhattan resident, John Tobin.

But on Friday, Mayor Adams signed new legislation in hopes that New Yorkers will have less of those stories to tell.

“Today we’re making it clear that the rats don’t run this city, New Yorkers do,” Adams said.

What You Need To Know

  • The legislature requires the Health Department to issue annual report on the success of rat mitigation measures in rat mitigation zones

  • Developers must have exterminators on construction sites

  • Buildings with two or more rodent-specific code violations have to use approved rodent resistant containers for at least two years

  • Trash set-out times will be pushed back to 8 p.m. starting in April and residential buildings will only be able to set trash out earlier, at 6 p.m., if it is sealed in a container

The four pieces of legislation drafted by the City Council require the Health Department to issue an annual report on the success of rat mitigation measures in rat mitigation zones, developers must have exterminators on construction sites, buildings with two or more rodent-specific code violations have to use approved rodent-resistant containers for at least two years.

And, the city’s Sanitation Department may determine the times during which buildings must set out their garbage and recycling for collection.

New Yorkers sounded off about proposed Sanitation Department rules Friday. 

Trash set-out times will be pushed back to 8 p.m. starting in April. Residential buildings will only be able to set trash out earlier, at 6 p.m., if it is sealed in a container.

Some say they think it will help to boost the city’s economy.

The Department of Sanitation says, “The current set-out time of 4 p.m. is the earliest among all large cities in the nation, and it means that in many cases, trash is out on the sidewalk for the majority of a 24-hour period.”

The department added that, “The new set-out time—combined with our picking up more trash on the overnight shift—helps shut down the rat buffet by drastically reducing the number of hours that black bags sit on our sidewalks.”