NYC Is Looking for Someone Tough Enough to Vanquish the City’s Rat Army

New York City is on the hunt for a pied piper. This week, metropolis officers introduced that they’re trying to rent a devoted rat czar that may lead the cost in rooting out the persistent vermin. The job pays as a lot as $170,000 a yr however requires a “general aura of badassery,” in response to the town’s personal job description.

The itemizing was posted Wednesday by the workplace of the NYC Deputy Mayor of Operations. The official job title is the Citywide Director of Rodent Mitigation, and candidates are anticipated to have ample quantities of grittiness.

“Reporting to the Deputy Mayor for Operations and in the Mayor’s Office at City Hall, the Citywide Director of Rat Mitigation is a 24/7 job requiring stamina and stagecraft,” the itemizing reads. “The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from various angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter.”

Other {qualifications} for the job embody however usually are not restricted to: being an NYC resident, having at the very least a bachelor’s diploma, previous expertise with authorities, city planning or mission administration, proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a “swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor, and general aura of badassery.” The wage vary is from $120,000 to $170,000.

New York has lengthy been recognized for its rat and mice residents. And although the town streets are hardly swarming with rodents, they continue to be an everyday eyesore, as anybody who’s taken the subway at evening can let you know. They may also nonetheless often unfold illness, as demonstrated by an outbreak reported in NYC final yr of the uncommon however harmful leptospirosis, which is often unfold by rat urine. Late final month, scientists even announced discovering variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus amongst NYC’s rats (animal-to-human transmission of covid-19 isn’t a significant concern at the moment, however its sustained presence in rodents and different wild animals does create the danger that extra harmful strains may sooner or later emerge from these reservoirs).

There have been reports of elevated rat sightings previously few years, although it’s not utterly clear whether or not their numbers have truly grown or if persons are extra watchful than they have been earlier than—a doable aspect impact of getting deserted after which returned to their social lives in the course of the pandemic. But as cute as they is likely to be carrying pizza down the steps, rats nonetheless are an actual pest price being vigilant about. So NYC’s rat czar has loads of work forward for them.