Curtis Sliwa offers to be NYC’s rat czar and help mayor Eric Adams get rid of the rat problem at his Brooklyn home after Mayor Adams was fined $1,200 for not controlling the vermin
- Curtis Sliwa hosted a publicity stunt with two cats outside Adams' apartment
- Republican Sliwa lost to Adams in the 2021 New York City mayoral election
- The mayor has received three summonses for the rat infestation at his house
Curtis Sliwa has offered to become New York City's 'rat czar' and help mayor Eric Adams get rid of the rodent infestation at his Brooklyn home.
Republican nominee Sliwa, 68, lost to Democratic candidate Adams in the 2021 New York City mayoral election.
Mr Sliwa staged a publicity stunt on Wednesday outside Mr Adams' home on Lafayette Avenue, saying he could defeat the rat problem with an army of feral cats, reported the New York Times.
Adams, 62, has been fined $1,200 for failing to control the rats at his four-unit apartment house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Curtis Sliwa has offered to become New York City's 'rat czar' and help mayor Eric Adams get rid of the rodent infestation at his Brooklyn home
Mr Sliwa staged a publicity stunt on Wednesday outside Mr Adams' home on Lafayette Avenue, saying he could defeat the rat problem with an army of feral cats
Republican nominee Sliwa, 68, lost to Democratic candidate Adams in the 2021 New York City mayoral election. Eric Adams is pictured on December 5, 2022
Mr Sliwa took two cats in a cage outside the apartment in a publicity stunt against his opponent, where he also pointed to a massive dead rat.
The activist said: 'He's tried everything. But it's time that we revert to the best measure that's ever worked. And that's cats.'
'You can't resolve the problem in the city if you can't even deal with a rat problem in front of your own house'.
Sliwa said the cats could be like an army of 'Batmans and Robins' patrolling the streets.
He added that feral cat colonies already in the city could also help and that they could follow the example of Istanbul, which has 100,000 feral cats that are treated as part of the community.
Mr Adams responded that Sliwa could become the city's new 'rat czar' or be hired as an intern.
He added at a press conference: 'Don't put it out there if you're not willing to live up to it'.
He said he would hire him as Sliwa is 'probably looking for a job' after the election victory in 2021, which saw the current mayor win 67 per cent of the vote.
Sliwa is the founder of civil patrol Guardian Angels and owns 16 rescue cats with his wife Nancy, including Tiny and Thor, who were present at the press conference.
The mayor previously announced plans to hire a director of rodent mitigation with the aim of resolving the city's rat problem.
Sliwa is the founder of civil patrol Guardian Angels and owns 16 rescue cats with his wife Nancy, including Tiny and Thor, who were present at the press conference
Mr Sliwa took two cats in a cage outside the apartment in a publicity stunt against his opponent, where he also pointed to a massive dead rat
A city council member told CBS News that the city has had a 71 percent increase in rat sightings since 2020. Pictured: Rat road kil on Lafayette Avenue
New York City Mayor Eric Adams may be dealing with rising crime and a homeless problem but he's willing to pay big money for someone who can get rid of the city's rats
The mayor previously announced plans to hire a director of rodent mitigation with the aim of resolving the city's rat problem (pictured on November 29)
The job, which pays between $120,000 to $170,000, is being listed for anyone with a background in urban planning, project management, or government work.
It also suggests you have a: 'swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery.' A knowledge of PowerPoint is also necessary.
A city council member told CBS News that the city has had a 71 percent increase in rat sightings since 2020.
Meanwhile, a study in 2014 by Jonathan Auerbach estimated there were two million rats living in the city.
On December 7 the health department issued two new summonses to Adams for failing to control the rats, bringing the total to three.
Adams claims to have spent nearly $7,000 on measures to get rid of rats, which meant the first summons was dropped.
Meanwhile the mayor is also dealing with economic problems and record levels of homelessness in the city.
Since being elected he has taken a 'tough-on-crime approach' and implemented a zero-tolerance policy on homeless people sleeping in subway cars.
In a news conference on Wednesday Mr Adams said: 'We have a rat problem in the city. I mean, who are we kidding?'
The mayor has previously said he is terrified of rats.
He has tried using glue traps and drowning the rats in alcohol, according to Sliwa.
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