Excerpts from the Boston Globe’s coverage of yesterday’s City Council hearing on the rodent problem with a focus on the North End area.
“Rats are wreaking havoc in the North End, burrowing through walls, gnawing through wires, and feasting on the neighborhood’s surfeit of discarded pizza boxes and restaurant garbage, aggrieved residents and the neighborhood’s frustrated city councilor testified yesterday.”
Some quotes from the article:
“It’s as if we’re living in a Third World country, and our community has turned into a rat infestation nightmare, causing property damage and spreading disease,’’ Anne M. Pistorio, a member of the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association, told a hearing of the City Council.
“For some reason, it seems like it’s getting bigger and bigger in regards to the problem,’’ Councilor Salvatore LaMattina said of rats in the North End, which he represents. “For the people who live in those areas, this is an emergency.’’
William Good, the city’s inspectional services commissioner, told the council rats have been plaguing Bostonians since the 17th century, and “are an aspect of life in a city that’s this old.’’ But, he said, “That doesn’t mean we can’t reduce the problem to a tolerable level.’’
Related posts:
Clean Streets Committee Draws Crowd in Tackling Trash & Rat Issues
The Phoenix Focuses on Rats
North End Rats on the Political Scene
If we want to reduce the rat population, we obviously need to reduce the amount of garbage on the streets. Bottle pickers attract rats when they open garbage bags searching for bottles. The bottles are in the garbage bags in the first place because residents do not want to return them for a meager 5 cents each. The bottle deposit needs to be raised to 25 cents to encourage people to return the bottles instead of leaving them in the garbage. There would be fewer bottle pickers, fewer ripped up garbage bags, less trash on the streets, and fewer rats. The deposit amount has not increased since 1982. It’s madness that the deposit hasn’t been at least indexed to inflation to keep it relevant.