The City of Hoboken saw an increase in rats after the pandemic and is on a mission to implement rodent mitigation tactics to eliminate the unwanted pests.
"I think it's really happened since COVID," Hoboken resident Paul Presinzano said. "Anytime you leave and things are disturbed nature comes back. Because we are a city that's moving toward more green, there's a lot more places for them to hide."
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On Monday, the Hoboken Business Alliance reported success with the Citibin pilot program launched last fall.
The bins are fully enclosed and elevated off the ground to prevent rodents from accessing trash. The bins are then placed curbside next to the participating businesses and the city's carting service picks up the waste on scheduled collection nights.
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There are currently six businesses participating in the program across Hoboken and all of them have reported a reduction in rat activity.
Hoboken Health Department also launched a partnership with Paramount Exterminating to provide weekly service in areas most impacted by the rat increase.
"They're going through and doing weekly treatments as soon as we identify problem areas," Hoboken City Council President Emily Jabbour said. "My number one job as a legislator locally is to get constituent feedback."
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