A 91-year-old Queens resident knew exactly what to do when she saw rats pacing in and out of a sewer in front of her home, but while the city addressed the problem, they ended up fining her after she made the complaint... not once, but twice.
"I'm 91 years old, you think I'm going to stand outside and look to see when the rats are coming out," said Queens resident Ester Dalia.
At one point she couldn't miss them. The four-legged rodents were running all over the place, outside Dalia's home in Maspeth.
"They were coming up from the sewer and coming up from the sidewalk," she said.
They were coming up from cracks in the sidewalk caused by roots from a tree which sits on city property.
So, Dalia did what officials have urged anyone who spots rats to do... dial 311. To her surprise, she ended up in the hot seat with two summonses - costing her $300 a piece. Plus, she says she had to get two exterminators, which cost her an additional $1,200.
"It adds insult to injury when you have to pay a fine on something you reported, something you blew the whistle on," said New York City Councilmember Robert Holden. "The city can't act like that."
Holden told Eyewitness News that some constituents in his Queens district have been fined multiple times.
In a letter he just sent to the city's so-called Rat Czar and other officials, Holden is calling on the city to reevaluate how rat complaints are being handled. He wants the city to focus on rat mitigation, educating the public and change the inspection process.
"We have a lot in my district, rain gardens that aren't kept up, they are full of weeds and there are rats in there," Holden said. "The city should get their own home in order first, before going after homeowners."
The city did come out and deal with the tree next to Dalia's home and she says she is seeing fewer rats, but that's not all she's hoping for.
"I'm hoping that they are embarrassed, that they would give me back my money," she said.
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