New York City says it’s seeing positive results in its battle against its most notorious residents: rats.

Rat sightings reported to 311 declined year over year in 11 of the last 12 months, the Department of Sanitation said in a news release this week.

What You Need To Know

  • Rat sightings reported to 311 declined year over year in 11 of the last 12 months, the Department of Sanitation said

  • The agency attributed the decline in part to changing trash set-out times in April of last year

  • The city expanded its containerization rules to include all city businesses in March of this year

  • With another expansion in the fall, the department says around 70% of the city’s trash will be securely contained

The department reported an overall decrease of 6.4% during that time period, with a 14.3% decline in the city’s so-called “rat mitigation zones.”

The agency attributed the decline in part to changing trash set-out times in April of last year, as well as rules that took effect last August requiring food-related businesses to put out garbage in sealed containers.

The city expanded its containerization rules to include all city businesses in March of this year.

This coming fall, meanwhile, the Department of Sanitation will start requiring residential buildings with one to nine units to place trash in secure containers.

With that expansion, the department says around 70% of the city’s trash will be securely contained.

The department eventually plans to require buildings with 31 or more residential units to use stationary on-street containers, starting with Manhattan Community Board 9 — which includes Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville and Morningside Heights — in the spring of 2025.

That will mark the beginning of the city's first full-district containerization pilot, the department said.