Are you a somewhat bloodthirsty New Yorker with excellent communication skills and a general aura of badassery? Then you might have what it takes to be the city's new rat czar.
Mayor Eric Adams s administration posted a job listing this week seeking someone to lead the city's long-running battle against rats. The title of the job is the director of rodent mitigation, although it was quickly dubbed the rat czar. Salary range is between $120,000 and $170,000.
The ideal candidate is determined to look at all solutions from different angles, including improving operational efficiency, data collection, technology innovation, trash management, and wholesale slaughter, according to the ad.
The job is daunting and the posting is whimsical.
New York City leaders have tried to control the population for generations, with mixed results. There have been reports of rats in parks, sidewalks, and other places in the city.
The city rats have survived a multimillion-dollar effort under the 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.
When he was borough president of Brooklyn, Adams once described 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 top 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.