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On December 1, 2022, New York's mayor, Eric Adams, announced that he’s looking for someone to exterminate rats and will pay a handsome amount for the same. Ever since the announcement was made, the internet has been bustling with hilarious memes.
On Wednesday, the Mayor’s office posted a new job listing looking for a Director of Rodent Mitigation. The job has promised an annual salary of $120,000 to $170,000. Eric Adams expressed his absolute distaste for rats on Twitter, saying:
“There’s NOTHING I hate more than rats. If you have the drive, determination, and killer instinct needed to fight New York City’s relentless rat population — then your dream job awaits.”
People are now crushing the comment section with equally comical replies and memes. One person responded by tweeting a cover picture of one of the Animorphs books. They wrote:
“Where do I sign up?”
Ridding NYC of rats has been on Adams' agenda for quite some time
During last month’s bill-signing, Adams said:
“I’ve made it clear I hate rats — and we’re gonna kill some rats. We’re putting a dent in our rodent problem.”
The Mayor has always been vocal about his distress about living among so many rodents. Recently, he also shared his plan to reduce their population, where he tried to adjust or fix specific hours of the day for people to take out their trash.
At a press conference in October, Adams said,
"Fighting crime, fighting inequality, fighting rats is something that we are focused on as we continue to make this city a livable city.”
The City Hall instructed agencies to withdraw around 4700 job vacancies due to a budget shortfall. A week later, the announcement of a new hire for a top-notch rodent remover was released.
To collect some funds, the Sanitation department has started selling t-shirts for $48, featuring the slogan:
“The rats don’t run this city. We do.”
City Council disses rats in the job specification, more memes follow
In the job description, it is stated that the candidate needs to have a college degree. Prior experience of working in government, project management, or urban planning would also suffice for the position. The written piece goes on to describe more requirements for this leadership role, such as “stamina and stagecraft”. It adds:
"The ideal candidate is highly motivated and somewhat bloodthirsty.”
The candidate also needs to be a resident of New York City. Or they should hold citizenship in New York for at least three months prior to being appointed. Some more characteristic traits in demand were depicted as a "swashbuckling attitude, crafty humor and general aura of badassery."
A few years ago, a video went viral where a rat was seen dragging down an entire slice of pizza off the stairs of a subway station in New York. City officials referred to this incident and stated in the job description:
"Despite their successful public engagement strategy and cheeky social media presence, rats are not our friends. Rodents spread disease, damage homes and wiring and even attempt to control the movements of kitchen staffers in an effort to take over human jobs."
Needless to say, the job listing is replete with rodent puns and satirical words against them. In one part it says:
“As leader of the ‘Rat Pack,’ you will work with your colleagues from across city government, traveling throughout the five burrows.”
New Yorkers who are equally frustrated and annoyed with the nuisance caused by these rodents are expressing their willingness to volunteer for the job. A whole memefest has started under Adams' tweet and people are running wild with their hilarity.
The New York Times reported that NYC's Department of Health has a rodent biologist and a dedicated rodent task force operating all around the city. Despite actively monitoring rat behavior and installing motion sensors on NYC streets, the city continues to see an active, ever-growing rat population.
There has been a 71% increase in the rat population in New York since 2020.
