New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has once again been issued a ticket for a rat infestation at his property in Brooklyn. This marks the fifth time the mayor has received a rodent violation since taking office in January 2022.
The latest ticket was issued by a city health inspector on May 16 at a row house owned by Adams in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The inspector noted fresh rat droppings and a rat burrow “at the front left base of the staircase of the property.”
The ticket, which was first reported by the Daily News, affords Adams the opportunity to challenge the violation on July 7 before an Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings officer.
In response to the ticket, Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, stated, “The mayor prides himself on keeping his property clean. He will review the summons and follow all standard procedures.”
Mayor Adams is well-known for his strong stance against rats, frequently proclaiming, “I hate rats!” He has even gone as far as demonstrating a device that drowns rats in a vat of caustic liquid to prove his point.
In an effort to combat the city’s rat problem, Adams appointed the city’s first “rat czar” last year after posting a job advertisement seeking applicants who could commit to the “wholesale slaughter” of the pests.
Although Adams now resides in Gracie Mansion, the official mayor’s residence, he has previously challenged the rat tickets he received at his Brooklyn property.
Out of the four previous tickets, three were dismissed, but the mayor paid a $300 settlement for the fourth.
Adams told a hearing officer that he had invested $7,000 in rat mitigation measures at the property.