NEW YORK – The mayor of New York City has defeated rat rap.
Days after Mayor Eric Adams appeared remotely at a city administrative hearing to contest a $300 fine for a rat infestation in a house he owned, the fine was dismissed.
Adams said Tuesday that he has spent thousands of dollars on rat mitigation efforts. The listening officer was satisfied and the ticket was filed on Thursday.
The official determined that the mayor had “placed mousetraps around the property and helped educate and encourage his neighbors to take similar steps to combat the infestation,” reported The New York Times.
Adams’ press secretary Fabien Levy said Friday the hearing process worked as it should.
“Mayor Adams is following the speech,” Levy said. “When he says rats are disgusting animals that need to be exterminated, he really means it, which is why he’s spent thousands of dollars doing just that at his Brooklyn residence.”
News of the fine came a week after Adams posted a job posting for a rat czar to lead the campaign to eradicate the pests.
But Adams believes rat-fighting should be a team effort. “He hopes all New Yorkers will join him in the mass killing of rats in our city,” Levy said.
