Reported spike in rat sightings around Maspeth

dead-rat-on-the-street
The Department of Environmental Protection has been searching for potential bioswale sites in Maspeth and they might’ve disturbed the rat burrows in the area, according to concerned residents.

Dead rats have appeared off the curb of 71st Street and Grand Avenue as well as 69th Lane near Grand Avenue just after the DEP started drilling into the ground on the avenue. One resident has spotted rat traps around the neighborhood, including on 53rd Avenue and 72nd Place.

The bioswales have caused a bit of controversy in the area since the DEP initially announced the addition of 321 bioswales in Maspeth, Ridgewood and Sunnyside. In particular, one Maspeth homeowner had a serious issue with an unwanted bioswale in front of her house last November.

The rat and trap sightings are near residential homes, restaurants, schools and the library. A man in the Bronx recently died from Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that is rat-borne. The disease is also harmful to pets as it’s capable of killing dogs.

Have you seen an increased presence of rats around the neighborhood? Let us know in the comments.

Please follow and like us:

5 thoughts on “Reported spike in rat sightings around Maspeth

  1. The rats are running all over grand aveue. Seen them on 71st street off of grand running in the school yard of I.S 73
    If someone gets bit a child or an adult there is a problem. The DEP should be out putting traps or special cats to curb this problem. Not a nice sight walking on grand and see these things runnimg all over the plavr.

  2. I just drove passed Marice Avenue and the Long Island Expressway on the service road across from the gas station. The city cut the grass and I saw about 25 rat burrows in the dirt. I notified 311

    1. Dep better do something before someone gets bit and gets sick
      This is a serious problem. We dont need these biswales. Put them in factory areas. Not residential areas. We never had problem like this until they started drilling. Why dont they do this by the mayors house not ours. Also the drilling has also caused alot of gas oders.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *