West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox

Search the site

No Result
View All Result

Get WSR FREE in your inbox

AVAILABLE NOW!


HERE

Sorry, Rats! Fancy New Trash Cans Arrive in Local Playgrounds to Stop the Scourge

January 18, 2018 | 1:18 PM - Updated on June 5, 2022 | 11:40 PM
in NEWS, POLITICS
16


Photo by Ellen Goodman in Hippo Playground.

New trash cans just arrived in Riverside Park, and they could throw a wrench in the dinner plans of neighborhood rats. The mayor’s office and Councilmember Helen Rosenthal funded special receptacles known as Big Belly trash cans, with mailbox-like openings, in every playground in Riverside Park as part of a plan to keep rats out of the area, Rosenthal’s spokesperson said.

“It’s wonderful to see tangible solutions to problems in the neighborhood,” wrote Ellen Goodman, whose toddler plays at Hippo Playground on 91st Street in Riverside Park.

The vermin had infested the playgrounds last year, with parents sending us videos of them scurrying through children’s play areas. After our article, and subsequent press coverage, the mayor announced that he would be allocating $750,000 to the Upper West Side for rat eradication.

Less trash should mean fewer rats, although it will depend on everyone disposing of their garbage.

Share this article:
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

16 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jim Demetrios
Jim Demetrios
5 years ago

I saw and used one today at Riverside Park. Attractive and I loved it. Good job city.

0
Reply
UWS_lifer
UWS_lifer
5 years ago

There is a big assumption here….that people will actually throw their trash INTO the cans.

Some people are so disrespectful that they just drop their garbage, including half eaten whatever, on the ground. I see it almost everyday in Riverside and/or Central Park depending on my jogging route for the morning. I like to mix it up and I get to see what’s going on with all you folks in many different settings.

p.s. On leash, off leash…PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOGS!!:) thanks

0
Reply
anonymous
anonymous
5 years ago

They might try forbidding the bird-feeders who come daily scattering enormous bags of bread crumbs that end up feeding more than the ducks. (Bread isn’t even good for birds, but try to tell the bird-feeders that…)

Actually, the police have told me feeding the birds IS against park regulations, but there no signs saying so. Putting up a few such signs might help.

0
Reply
BillyNYC
BillyNYC
5 years ago

We have at the AMNH for two years now and all the rats are gone 2 days later… It is about time!

0
Reply
nycissues.org
nycissues.org
5 years ago

At 15 times the cost of an old fashioned trash can, are they really a better solution?

Philadelphia has had them since 2009.

https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/07/phillys_4000_big_belly_trash_cans_a_messy_waste_city_controller_says.html

https://www.govtech.com/fs/perspectives/BigBelly-High-Tech-Trash-Cans-in-Philly-Didnt-Work-Out-As-Planned.html

https://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/stu_bykofsky/why-high-tech-trash-cans-didnt-work-20170624.html

Why not a carry in carry out policy?

https://www.pressherald.com/2015/07/02/carry-in-carry-out-policy-working-at-waterville-parks/

0
Reply
EagleEye
EagleEye
5 years ago
Reply to  nycissues.org

nycissues.org the articles you reference refer to 1. problems with older models which presumably have been fixed (foot pedals etc.)
2. lack of maintenance by other cities
and 3. SAVINGS that were below projections, but SAVINGS in collection costs none the less. I see nothing to dampen our hopes for the UWS.

0
Reply
nycissues.org
nycissues.org
5 years ago
Reply to  EagleEye

There are positives but the new machines with pedals in NYC still have issues.

https://www.boweryboogie.com/2017/12/big-belly-trash-compacting-bins-contribute-litter-problem/

https://voicesofny.org/2017/12/bigbelly-garbage-cans-bring-new-trouble-to-chinatown/

0
Reply
Joey
Joey
5 years ago

How about bins for recyclables?

0
Reply
Rat A. Tooey
Rat A. Tooey
5 years ago

Deer Editta:

About yer “New trash canz… could throw a wrench in the dinner plans of neighborhood rats.”

Us ‘vermin’ don’t no nuttin about t’rowin’ wenches…oops…wRenches, but we do knows dat da subway is warm and has lotza good eatibles.

Hey, youmens, keep buyin’ dem chikken wings…speshally da ones wif dat bar-bee-kew stuff, and t’rowin da bonz on da tracks!

tanx
R.A.Tooey

0
Reply
Marion
Marion
5 years ago

What about killing the rats! They may disappear from the playgrounds, which is great, but they will just wander elsewhere on the UWS. This doesn’t eliminate the problem.

0
Reply
Mootown
Mootown
5 years ago
Reply to  Marion

So killing animals is acceptable? I’d hate to see how your kids end up

0
Reply
EricaC
EricaC
5 years ago
Reply to  Mootown

Responding to a comment by suggesting some children should suffer? I shudder to think about yours!

0
Reply
Mootown
Mootown
5 years ago
Reply to  EricaC

Suffer with what Erica? Going to an area to be around nature- and having animals there? I can’t imagine the horror!

0
Reply
Phoebe
Phoebe
5 years ago

Rats LOVE to eat dog poop; it attracts them. Please don’t say that’s why we need more rats… even if they are admittedly far cuter than poop.

0
Reply
Mootown
Mootown
5 years ago

I actually leave food out at the park for the rats. Unlike the majority of the people on the UWS side, rats aren’t assholes. Whatever happened to “every life matters”? Starving animals is wrong

0
Reply
NYWoman
NYWoman
5 years ago

Please add to Amsterdam Avenue along Restaurant Row, with an aggressive BID cleanup crew that keeps it fabulous – that will put money in the restauranteur’s pockets and add a more positive spin on summer weekend nights along the sidewalk cafes.

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Alive at Clive’s: See Inside the Record Mogul’s UWS Condo on the Market for $6.3 Million
NEWS

Alive at Clive’s: See Inside the Record Mogul’s UWS Condo on the Market for $6.3 Million

September 27, 2023 | 10:40 AM
NYPD Seizes Mopeds, Bikes Illegally Chained Near Stratford Arms Hotel; Woman Arrested
CRIME

Another Elderly UWS Person Scammed Out of $9.5K by Bail Money Con: Police

September 27, 2023 | 9:01 AM
Previous Post

Russian-Speaking Family Programs Celebrate Shared Heritage at JCC Manhattan

Next Post

Heartbroken Employees Plan Sendoff for Lincoln Plaza Cinemas: ‘I Care About How Things End’

this week's events image

Explore Your Favorite Subject

20th precinct 24th precinct american museum of natural history animals art bicycling bulletin central park closings columns community board 7 coronavirus crash crime dogs events fdny fire food gale brewer helen rosenthal history homelessness jcc lincoln center monday bulletin morning bulletin nypd openings openings and closings pedestrian safety photography photos politics public schools pupper west side real estate restaurants riverside park silver stars fitness snow sponsored subway upper west side uws

CITY NEWS

The City
Brick Underground
City Limits
Eater
Gothamist
NY Daily News
NY Post
NY Times

LOCAL RESOURCES

Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Central Park Conservancy
CB7
Community Education Council 3
Assembly District 67
The New York Historical Society
Riverside Park
West End Preservation

UWS Blogs

Bloomingdale History Central Park Blogger
North River Notes
Next Post
Heartbroken Employees Plan Sendoff for Lincoln Plaza Cinemas: ‘I Care About How Things End’

Heartbroken Employees Plan Sendoff for Lincoln Plaza Cinemas: ‘I Care About How Things End’

RESIDENTS QUESTION LOCAL POLICE PRACTICES ON IMMIGRATION, DISCUSS HARASSMENT AT SENIOR HOUSING

Neighborhood Policing Project Coming to Upper West Side Precinct

Prioritize Mindfulness at JCC Manhattan’s Annual Day of Kabbalah

Prioritize Mindfulness at JCC Manhattan's Annual Day of Kabbalah

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.