‘I can’t believe this is actually a thing,’ says man offering rat tours of New York City | 24CA News

Kenny Bollwerk says he by no means meant to change into the man who leads rat excursions of New York City.

Bollwerk — or, as he is typically known as, “the rat guy” — has constructed up a considerable following lately livestreaming a number of the metropolis’s most rat-infested areas on TikTok.

But for some curious “RatTok” followers, the movies aren’t sufficient. So he is began taking vacationers and locals together with him as he paperwork the critters, providing what are basically free strolling excursions of New York’s rat hotspots. 

“I can’t believe this is actually a thing,” Bollwerk advised As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 

“I think it’s because of the excitement. Like, there’s so many things that they’ve come and they’ve done already. They’ve seen the Empire State Building already. They’ve seen Central Park already. They want to see something different.”

WATCH | Kenny Bollwerk shares movies of NYC rats on TikTok:

And he isn’t the one one. Luke Miller, proprietor of Real New York Tours, says a number of years in the past he added a cease to his excursions in Columbus Park for vacationers who’re curious in regards to the resident rodents.

“There seems to be a strange fascination with rats these days,” Miller advised CBC in an e-mail.

“On my tours over the years, people have always been intrigued and asked questions about the rats in NYC, but it was after a video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza down the subway stairs that went viral that I began getting more questions about where to see rats.”

He says individuals have been lengthy been fascinated by — and desperate to monetize — New York City’s rats.

“During the mid-19th century, you had people like Kit Burns and his famous rat pit where hundreds of people gathered to gamble on how many rats a single terrier dog could kill in an allotted amount of time,” Miller mentioned. 

“There are some pretty gruesome tales of humans and rats throughout NYC history.”

One cease has typically been sufficient to sate the rat fanatics on his excursions, he mentioned. But since he was quoted in a New York Post article about rat tourism final week, he says rat-related requests are skyrocketing. 

“I never had a specific rat tour, but since the Post article came … I’m seriously considering starting one,” he mentioned. 

Rat-filled trash luggage appear to be pumping hearts

Bollwerk says that when he moved to New York from Missouri in 2019, he was bowled over by its sturdy rat inhabitants. Sometimes, he says, he’ll see upwards of 100 in a single spot.  

“I didn’t think it could be as bad as people are saying but I’ve gone through a couple infested spots around the city, and they’re just running from underneath construction sites, going to the sidewalk where there’s just trash bags laying on the sidewalk,” he mentioned.

“The bags are moving. And it’s not the wind blowing the bags, it’s the rats inside. It looks like a heart pumping from your chest.”

He says he began filming them to attract consideration to what he believes is an actual drawback. 

“The ultimate goal when I started shooting the videos was to make sure people knew what was going on at first, and how to report the issue,” he mentioned.

Upwards of two,000 individuals tune into his RatTok streams, he says. And of these, a number of hundred will name town to report the rat infestation he is filming. 

“The city takes that stuff more seriously when it’s like 200 [complaints], but also when there’s video recording of it,” he mentioned. 

War on rats

The metropolis, in the meantime, says it is making progress in its struggle on rats since it appointed a director of citywide rodent mitigation — a.okay.a. the “rat czar” — in April.

City officers didn’t touch upon the rat tourism phenomenon. But when requested for an announcement, they directed CBC to a July press launch that claims New York had seen a 20 per cent lower of calls about rat exercise within the earlier two months in comparison with final 12 months.

It’s a feat New York City Mayor Eric Adams — a self-proclaimed rat hater — credit to new rat-curbing measures that restrict when and the way lengthy rubbish will be positioned outdoors, and mandate the usage of coated bins.

“Every food scrap that we keep out of the trash and every black bag that we keep off the street is a meal that we’re taking out of a hungry rodent’s stomach,” Adams mentioned within the launch. 

Some individuals have accused Bollwerk of feeding the rats to lure them for his movies, like a ship tour operator chumming the waters for sharks. He denies this.

Trash bin initiatives or not, he says there’s loads for the animals to snack on with out his assist. Plus, he does not wish to get too shut.

He cannot say the identical for the parents who be a part of him, although. 

“One guy actually grabbed a tail from behind,” Bollwerk mentioned.

“Yeah, put his hand down and grabbed the tail.”