An Upper West Side area infested with rats may finally get some relief with a new city pilot program aimed at preventing the rodents from burrowing underground.
"There is an unbelievable rat fest going on on 83rd Street," said neighbor Gail Dubov. "There are hundreds of rats crisscrossing the street and having a party."
Susan Arterian avoids walking her dog at night because of the constant scurrying of rats.
"I feel badly when I see young children on the street who get frightened," she said.
Now their block association is taking part in a rat-removing tactic with the city's parks and health departments.
It goes after the rats where they live, which lately have been right along the edge of Riverside Park in the tree wells that line the neighborhoods.
Starting next month, material called Stalite will be stuffed in the rat holes. It is used in construction and is intended to stop rats from burrowing. The Department of Health told DNAInfo.com Stalite is not a pesticide.
If the program proves to put rats in their place, it could be adopted for tree-lined streets across the city. The current pilot program is not costing the Upper West Side block associations.
