3:00 snapshot #941:More New York City

[urbpan]

The second two days of the Rodent Control Academy were held in the building I'm leaning in front of, a City Government Administrative building of some kind way way down on the southwest tip of Manhattan. It was cold and foggy in the mornings (even as the temp got up to the 80s in Boston) but when it burned off there was quite a view. Here's the balance of my NYC pics, including a couple that I took while doing Rodent Control fieldwork:



This was the view from the classroom window: the Hudson River through the notch, and a couple green roofs.


Down in Battery Park, where I ate my lunch, you could see the Statue of Liberty through the fog.


While doing fieldwork in Battery Park, we noticed the drag marks from trash bags. (These usually contain grease, and can serve as a food supply for rats.)


We also did field observations at Trinity Church. Heavy rat infestations in the graveyard made one workshop participant say that he wanted to be buried in a stainless steel casket.


On my way back to the bus station, I stopped by to see the new World Trade Center tower.


I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn't explore this place, which I only learned afterward was the Irish Hunger Memorial.

Thanks New York! I promise I'll be back soon to think about and experience more than your rat problem.

Comments

[uneko.livejournal.com]

Awesome, as always :D
I have questions though.. is it the grease trails themselves that act as a food source or the bags of trash? I started envisioning rats flocking onto the side walk licking it frantically. XD

and on the list of questions I might not ant to know the answer to.... what do rats in the cemetery eat? D:

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

The rats do indeed lick the sidewalk! Mostly they make use of the trash itself, but will happily lick grease from the pavement if that's what's available. The rats in the cemetery feed on food that people drop (a lot of people eat lunch nearby) and from bags of trash on the sidewalk near the church.

The biggest problem is that trash in New York is mostly placed directly on the sidewalk in bags, not in cans or dumpsters, so it is readily available to the rats.