March 18

We have a growing "RAT" problem at Columbus Park and the surrounding neighborhood. The Health Dept. has been doing "RAT" Indexing (research) and hear is what they are saying (email sent to me March 1, 2010),

a) There is an extraordinary amount of food trash left in baskets each day and night;

b) abundance of litter within the park that does not get collected on a regular basis;

c) many restaurants along Mulberry Street place out their trash each night and the rats have easy access;

d) and the park is located over very old subterranean lines of sewer, and even old streams. These subsurface areas no doubt serve as partial replenishes for rat control achieved at surface level. Many of the restaurants on Mulberry have failed for having rats on their premises; and thus there is likely a back and forth swapping of the rats from Columbus Park to Mulberry Street basements.

1. Baiting alone will NOT get this done. In fact, long term, it exacerbates it.

2. There also appears to be a hawk which is using the park for easy pickings of the rats; and so the Parks Dept will need to weigh in on “the risk to the hawk” if any large scale baiting is done. They will need to make the call.

3. We are making Columbus Park a part of the special Chinatown Pilot. Including refuse analysis/management.

4. As a result, Columbus Park will be getting special attention over the next several weeks and months. “

RATS, RATS, RATS for so long the city of NY has been trying to control the rat population. They bring disease and droppings that make us all shiver. Now that it’s getting worse and worse we can no longer stand by and watch. Something must be done! Whatever the City/Parks Dept./Health Dept. is doing it’s not working.

We need to get involved. We need to change our ways. Cleaner/Safer neighborhoods must become more of our responsibility.

It is our families that ultimately suffer. We are the one’s using Columbus Park and we are the ones that live in the neighborhood.

This is a WAR against “RATS”, It is a war for a cleaner and safer neighborhood. It is time we take up arms and start strategizing a winning strategy. We cannot solely depend on others to fight this war, we need to work with our allies (Health Dept./Parks Dept./City of New York) and fight this war together. After all, it is our families that are the primary stake holders in this war.

Open to suggestions and ideas. Email me at, paulgong1@msn.com

Thanks for listening & caring,

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You forgot to cc me-but your letter was forwarded to me. DOH is not yet finished with indexing in CB 3. I am emailing to them to let them know they should have copied the CB on any reports for the area. We will work with you when we get the full report from DOH. We will need to look at results for whole community and look at possibilities and suggestions. I hope you will attend committee meeting when we do so we can all put our heads together. (one head per person)

I have been working with Columbus Park issue. It is a challenge because the manager is CB 1 and the park is cb 3. However, we get lots of rats complaints-so I am always working on this.

Recently I received complaints that plastic bags from Parks were being left overnight on Baxter. I arranged with Sanitation in CB 3 to pick these up to supplement Parks pick ups of garbage. If Parks bags are being left overnight again due to cut backs-please let me know. I can work on this.

If there are other specific issues such as this-please also let me know. The biggest problem is that the park is so heavily used -and also that it is used by people eating food from the restaurants, there are many, many restaurants (which is also a problem in other parts of CB 3), and we have the court system that is not within our jurisdiction on their protocols.

It is really great that you are collecting suggestions. I think I will also have this problem added to Chinatown Working Group 197 A plan. I will be in touch with you when we get report for area and we can figure out we can do together. In meantime-please let me know if there are specific issues, such as garbage bags, that I can deal with.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RAT RELATED HEALTH HAZARDS & DISEASES

Here is information on common diseases caused by rats, as gathered from the Center For Disease Control & Prevention http://www.cdc.gov

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS): Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans can contract the disease when they breathe in aerosolized virus. HPS was first recognized in 1993 and has since been identified throughout the United States. Although rare, HPS is potentially deadly. Rodent control in and around the home remains the primary strategy for preventing hantavirus infection.

Murine Typhus: Murine typhus (caused by infection with R. typhi) occurs worldwide and is transmitted to humans by rat fleas. Flea-infested rats can be found throughout the year in humid tropical environments, but in temperate regions are most common during the warm summer months. Travelers who visit in rat-infested buildings and homes, especially in harbor or riverine environments, can be at risk for exposure to the agent of murine typhus.

Rat-bite fever (RBF): Rat-bite fever (RBF) is a systemic bacterial illness caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis that can be acquired through the bite or scratch of a rodent or the ingestion of food or water contaminated with rat feces.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium: As its name suggests, it causes a typhoid-like disease in mice. In humans S. Typhimurium does not cause as severe disease as S. Typhi, and is not normally fatal. The disease is characterized by diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea, and generally lasts up to 7 days. Unfortunately, in immunocompromized people, that is the elderly, young, or people with depressed immune systems, Salmonella infections are often fatal if they are not treated with antibiotics.

Leptospirosis: Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans it causes a wide range of symptoms, and some infected persons may have no symptoms at all. Symptoms of leptospirosis include high fever, severe headache, chills, muscle aches, and vomiting, and may include jaundice (yellow skin and eyes), red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or a rash. If the disease is not treated, the patient could develop kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, and respiratory distress. In rare cases death occurs.

Eosinophilic Meningitis: Eosinophilic meningitis is an infection of the brain occurring in association with an increase in the number of eosinophils, white blood cells that are associated with infection with worms that penetrate into the body. The organism most commonly causing eosinophilic meningitis is a rat lung worm called angiostrongylus cantonensis.