New York City's first rat czar leaves post; future of anti-rat program in doubt

Kathleen Corradi, New York City's first rat czar, has left her $176,000-a-year post in Mayor Eric Adams' administration, city officials said Friday. City Hall said Corradi left on her own accord and will be "working to serve the city in a different capacity," according to Adams' office. Corradi was named New York City's rat czar during a news conference on April 12, 2023, to lead a citywide push to curb Gotham's estimated 3 million rats.

Appointed to head a program that sought to use contraceptive research, public engagement and "rat mitigation zones" to curb sightings, Corradi spearheaded a broad set of initiatives that included pilot trash reforms aimed at reducing food sources for rodents and the rollout of enforcement fines for trash containerization in smaller residential buildings. Harlem residents also saw the rollout of UFO-like "empire bins" as part of a pilot, prompting concerns about parking spaces in some blocks.

City Hall said the work would continue in some capacity and that the department was still outlining next steps on whether to replace the post. Officials stressed that Corradi's initiatives would be carried forward by the administration irrespective of the title. Adams' spokesman noted that the mayor is nearing the end of his first term; his re-election hopes have faced headwinds in a crowded race, with Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani leading many polls.

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Looking at the data, municipal records show 311 reports of rat sightings this year totaling 663 as of now, a figure that exceeds 2022's annual tally of 546 and outstrips 2024's peak of 482, underscoring the challenge the city faces in curbing vermin. In political circles, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent for mayor, said the campaign has not yet settled on a rat policy, though aides signaled support for measures like trash containerization and continued efforts to address the rodent issue. "We’re chewing over whether to continue with a rat czar, or gnaw through the problem in a different way," Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's campaign spokesman, said.

Republican mayoral candidate and animal advocate Curtis Sliwa weighed in with a warning: while offering to take the role for free, he said Adams' administration had allowed the problem to fester and urged funding for direct rat-fighting instead of titles. The Mamdani campaign did not reply to requests for comment.

Corradi's departure marks a transition for a program that had aimed to expand community engagement and policy changes across five boroughs, but which remains politically sensitive as New York City heads toward a mayoral election. Whether a successor will be named—and how the city will measure progress against its rat-control goals—remains to be seen.