Here Come the Rats!

New York 1 is reporting that a local Taco Bell and KFC outlet has been closed because of rat infestation. It certainly doesn't surprise us in the least. Not because we think that this particular chain is a bad actor; but because the city's failure to allow restaurants and other food stores to use food waste disposers prevents the rapid elimination of food waste that attracts the rodent population.

So it appears that the city, despite the fact that it has recognized that the rat control strategy that makes the most sense is elimination of food sources, still feels that controlling the algae growth in the Jamaica Bay (because of alleged nitrogen effluents from waste disposers) is more important than controlling rats in our food supply.

As the rat epidemic continues to plague the city perhaps we should look to bringing the giant rat that is usually used to shame non-union contractors over to 40 West 20Th Street, the home base of the National Resources Defense Council, a supposed environmental group that has worked to block the use of commercial food waste disposers. Let's place the shame where it belongs.