In news that will come as little surprise to many in Bed-Stuy, rat sightings in the neighborhood â" and across the borough â" are on the rise.
Community District 3 has recorded 1,286 sightings this year, up 32% on 2020âs 977 reports, 311 data shows. Most of the critters that were reported to 311, 867 of the 1,286, were in apartments or mixed-used buildings, Patch reports.
The number of rat sightings in the neighborhood is also a 47% increase on 2019.
Across the borough rat sightings are up 54% on the same time last year, and according to a Renthop study Brooklyn has seen the most of the furry critters citywide so far in 2021.
The surge in sightings â" up citywide by 29% to more than 25,000 â" has been put down to a number of factors, including a drop in reporting during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The New York Times reports other factors include health inspectors being reassigned to mass-vaccination sites from rat-patrol duty; an unusually wet summer; and the closure of restaurants during the early days of COVID-19, which forced rats to scavenge outside more.
