A rat runs across a sidewalk in the snow in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, December 2, 2019.A rat runs across a sidewalk in the snow in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, December 2, 2019.
Rat sightings on the streets, in subways and even homes have jumped 71% over in the past two years, according to the city’s sanitation department. Sidewalk dining outside of restaurants – first allowed in 2020 as a temporary measure to help blunt economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, has been blamed in part for the rat explosion. The city is exploring ways to allow for permanent “streeteries.”