MANAGERS SAY RATS TO REGULATION

It’s the year of rats. Complaints to the city’s 311 line about rat sightings have increased 60% since before the pandemic and are at the highest level since 2010, when records began.

The city appointed a rat czar in April to organize the fight against these rodents. Laws have been passed to cut the food and waste that attract and nourish the critters and new regulations are being imposed.

Ira Meister

President and CEO

Matthew Adam Properties Inc.

375

Pearl Street – 14th Floor

New York, NY 10038

(212)699-8900 imeister@matthewadam.com

One of these is causing a burden on residential properties in New York. It’s a requirement that garbage bags can’t be put out for pickup before 8 p.m. The old rule kept the bags off the streets until 4 p.m.

What difference does four hours make? A lot for building superintendents and staff who will have to be available at 8 p.m. Buildings that put garbage in rodent-secure bins can wait until 6 p.m. Residential properties usually do not have maintenance staff on duty at 8 p.m. and often, in smaller buildings, a superintendent covers more than one property. In large properties, this forces a change in hours or overtime. For smaller properties, as well as larger ones, it disrupts family life.

Buildings must have the garbage out by 12:01 a.m. on collection days. Properties with nine or more units can put out the garbage between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. on collection days, but few properties have staff on call at those hours.

The city’s motivation appears to be two-fold. Primarily, it is to fight the rapid increase in the rat population that seemed to explode during the pandemic with restaurants setting up outdoor dining sheds. Secondly, the city wants to reduce the unsightly look of the garbage bags in the street and the smell, especially during the summer heat. However, it is questionable how effective this will be as the garbage in the vast majority of cases will be left for hungry rats during their night mealtime.

While Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents most building employees in New York, approved the changes, it is the boards, property managers, superintendents and owners who have to deal with this. It could result in overtime for many properties or changing schedules, which are carefully honed in many buildings.

While many cost-conscious boards balk at paying a private hauler, that might change. If we can get more buildings involved and get prices down, I think it will catch on. So far, two of the properties we manage — a co-op and a condo — have switched to private haulers.

The new regulations were included in legislation signed by Mayor Eric Adams in November. The legislation included provisions to control rats at construction projects, institute rat mitigation zones and require buildings with two or more rodent violations in a two-year period to use rodent-resistant containers for two years.

Violators received written warnings during a one-month grace period that ended on May 1. The agency plans to start issuing fines to scofflaws: $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second and $200 for additional offenses.