New York City is hiring new rat tsar

Are you a somewhat bloodthirsty New Yorker with excellent communication skills and a general aura of bad assery? Then you might have what it takes to be the city's new rat tsar.

Eric Adams'administration posted a job listing this week seeking someone to lead the city's long-running battle against rats. The official job title is the director of rodent mitigation, although it was promptly dubbed the rat tsar. Salary range is between $120,000 and $170,000.

The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty, determined to look at all solutions from different angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter. The job is daunting and the posting is whimsical.

New York City leaders have tried to control the rodent population for generations, with mixed results. There have been reports of rats in parks, sidewalks, and other places in the city.

The city rats survived a multimillion-dollar effort under former mayor Bill de Blasio that focused on more trash pickups and better housing inspections in targeted neighborhoods. The city also launched a program to use dry ice to suffocate rats in their hiding spots.

Adams, when he was borough president of Brooklyn, once showed a trap that used a bucket filled with toxic soup to drown rats lured by the smell of food.

The Adams administration is looking for a rat bureaucrat to be the public face of the city's eradication and education efforts.

Cunning, voracious, and prolific New York City rats are legendary for their survival skills, but they don't run this city, claimed the posting.

Applicants are expected to have a crafty sense of humor and to lead from the front, using hands-on techniques to exterminate rodents with authority and efficiency.