Last we heard, the Ratdemic had hit Brighton Beach... and now word is that an army of rodents is terrorizing the Upper East Side. In fact, the Wall Street Journal says they've infested every nook of the neighborhood, from stores to car engines.
Some locals are blaming the 2nd Avenue subway project (previously blamed for sickness), and say once the sun sets the rats come out in waves. One said, "It looks like the street's moving. It's just wild. You can't imagine how infested this place became." Surely the recent slashing of pest control jobs by the city won't be helping to quell the problem.
A contractor managing the project told the MTA that the blasting "may be exacerbating a pre-existing condition"—but in the end the effect continuous explosions have on rats is unknown. Currently the main problem seems to be where they're excavating a giant cavern underground between 91st and 95th Streets (readying for the tunnel boring machine). The project is expected to last 8 more years, and one expert says during that time lots of the rodents will be killed, but perhaps even more will get away. As one resident put it: "We are, until 2018, in a living hell."
