NEW YORK CITY — The 9,900 rat sighting reports in the first seven months of 2026 mark the first time reports have fallen below 10,000 during that timeframe since 2020. Current rat sighting numbers in New York City are not below pre-pandemic levels.

New York City has an estimated population of 600,000 rats. It is estimated that there is one rat for every three people in New York City.

Current Mayor Zohran Mamdani eliminated the “rat czar” position. Mamdani expanded the containerization program to six districts, bringing “Empire Bins” to 25,000 new residences.

“In the wealthiest city in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have their sidewalks covered in garbage. By finishing the job on containerization, we will ensure New York City’s streets remain the envy of the world,” Mamdani said.

All businesses and low-density residential buildings in New York City were required to containerize trash in 2024. More than 70 percent of all trash in New York City is now required to be in sealed containers.

Businesses and low-density residential buildings produce approximately 70% of New York City's trash. Full containerization of New York City's trash is expected to be complete by 2031.

“Mounds of leaky, smelly black trash bags on our streets have served as an all-you-can-eat buffet for rats, but the era of those bags is drawing to a close,” Sanitation Department spokesperson Vincent Gragnani said.

Rodentologist Robert Corrigan stated that garbage is a rat’s favorite food and lids on trash cans are “the true hero of rat management.” He noted that rats only require one ounce of food and water a day and do not need a whole sandwich.

West Harlem has been fully containerized since June 2025. Reported rat sightings in West Harlem fell by 34% in the first seven months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025.

Manhattan Community Board 8 has seen a 35% decrease in rat sightings since Empire Bins were installed in summer 2025. Reported rat sightings in parts of Brooklyn’s Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights decreased by 48% in the first seven months of 2026 compared to the previous year.

Reported rodent sightings in the East Village, Lower East Side, and parts of Chinatown increased by 37% in the first seven months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Rat sighting reports in New York City have decreased each year since 2024.

Former Mayor Eric Adams officially declared a “war on rats” in late 2022. Adams and then-Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch launched a “Get Stuff Clean” initiative in late 2022.

Eric Adams appointed Kathleen Corradi as “rat czar” in early 2023. The Adams administration posted a job advertisement for the role requiring applicants to be “highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty” and possess “stamina and stagecraft,” a swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery.

The Adams administration formed specialized teams known as “Rat Pack” to tackle rats in street tree beds. “Rats impact how you feel about the city you’re in … many of us live in communities where rats think they run the city,” Adams said.

There were 16,230 reports of rat sightings in New York City between January and August 2022. Gil Bloom, a representative for Standard Pest Management, stated that rat sightings in New York City dropped to a record low in 2019.

Bloom said that Covid rearranged the topography and rats went wild. He said they were running around horribly once food shacks were set up all around the city and the population skyrocketed.

Bloom said the city must consider who its adversary is. He added that rats are still in the underground and catch spaces of the city. He said if rats are out at night and people do not see them, it is still a rat, but no one is seeing it.

he stated that rats are burrowing animals and in a city with limited earth and space, a rat is going to find you. He noted that experts have learned over the last 15 or 20 years that a rat’s range is much greater than previously thought.

Parks in New York City do not use rodenticide due to risks to hawks and birds, instead using traps with liquid nitrogen to freeze holes. New York City is set to lose 30,000 parking spots due to the expansion of the containerization program.

A New York City Council proposal threatens the loss of up to 300,000 parking spots. The New York City Council was established in 1936.

Why It Matters

With an estimated 600,000 rats living in the city, the drop in sightings below 10,000 for the first time since 2020 signals a shift in rodent management strategy from personnel to infrastructure. While reports have decreased annually since 2024 following the 2022 declaration of a war on rats, current numbers remain above pre-pandemic levels. The data suggests that sealing trash sources, which experts identify as the primary driver of rat populations, yields measurable results in specific districts even as the total population remains high.