NEW YORK (AP) — Do you hate rats? Are you a “bloodthirsty” New Yorker with excellent communication skills and a “general tough guy aura”? Then maybe you have what it takes to be the new tsar in the fight against the city’s mice.
The city government led by Mayor Eric Adams posted a job posting this week looking for someone to lead the metropolis’ long-standing fight against rats. The official title of the position is: “Director of Rodent Mitigation,” although he was soon named Rat Czar. Salary ranges from $120,000 to $170,000 annually.
“The ideal candidate is a highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty person who is determined to look at all solutions from various angles, such as operational efficiency improvement, data collection, technological innovation, waste management and wholesale slaughter,” the job posting states.
The announcement is colorful, but the work is demanding.
New York City officials have tried to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results. Rat sightings in parks, on sidewalks and other city sites have increased recently.
City Rats survived former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s multimillion-dollar effort, which focused more on garbage collection and better home inspections in specific neighborhoods. The city has also launched a program to use dry ice to suffocate rats in their hiding places.
When he was Brooklyn Borough President, Adams once demonstrated a trap that used a bucket full of toxic soup to drown rats attracted to the smell of the food.
Now the Adams government is looking for a rat specialist to become the public face of the city’s eradication and education efforts.
“Cunning, voracious and prolific, the rats of New York are legendary for their ability to survive, but they don’t run the city, we do,” the job posting reads.
Applicants are expected to have a sense of humor and “take the lead, using practical techniques to exterminate rodents authoritatively and effectively”.
