The Civic Issue
NYC designated 29 Rat Mitigation Zones, appointed its first-ever "Rat Czar" (Director of Rodent Mitigation, Kathleen Corradi), and launched pilot programs including rat contraceptives in Harlem. Rat sightings are at a 5-year low, but residents in affected zones still face abatement orders and the core reality that 2 million+ rats haven't disappeared — they've just been pushed around.
Headline Spending
$14.7M
identifiable in budget
Budget Lines (Adopted)
$16.7M
7 lines
Vendor Spending
$3.1M
6 vendors
| Line | Adopted | Spent |
|---|---|---|
Pest Control ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - PS | $9.0M | $6.8M |
Pest Control Nuisance Abatement ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - PS | $4.6M | $2.2M |
Pest Control ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - OTPS | $439.9K | $286.4K |
Pest Control Nuisance Abatement ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - OTPS | $423.1K | $139.6K |
Vector Control ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - OTPS | $284.5K | $120.4K |
IC W/DEP - Neighborhood Rat Reduction ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - PS | $0 | $2.0K |
Larvicide Program with DEP ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - OTPS | $2.0M | $1.6M |
| KINGSWAY EXTERMINATING CO INC | $2.4M | 23 txns |
| ADAPCO LLC | $273.6K | 2 txns |
| CLARKE MOSQUITO CONTROL PRODUCTS INC | $141.3K | 2 txns |
| BLACK WIDOW TERMITE PEST CONTROL CORP. | $132.8K | 119 txns |
| SPECIAL PATHOGENS LABORATORY LLC | $70.1K | 10 txns |
| SENESTECH INC | $20.0K | 1 txns |
Total Identifiable Spending
$14.7M in DOHMH pest control budget lines + $2.7M in pest-related DSNY vendor spending + $2.7M in DOHMH pest control payroll = ~$20.1M across city agencies (shared across all pest control, not just rats)
DOHMH's Environmental Health division runs the city's pest control apparatus with $14.7M in adopted budget across Pest Control, Pest Control Nuisance Abatement, and Vector Control lines. The workforce includes exterminators (avg salary $61K), pest control supervisors ($59K), and pest control aides ($35K) — about 1,133 payroll records in FY2026. Kingsway Exterminating is the largest pest control vendor at $2.4M. Notably, SENESTECH INC received $19,992 — this is the manufacturer of ContraPest, the rat contraceptive being piloted in Harlem. The Larvicide Program with DEP ($2.0M adopted, $2.6M modified) handles mosquito control, not rats, but shares the vector control infrastructure.
The "Rat Czar" position (Director of Rodent Mitigation) sits under the Mayoralty, but doesn't appear as a named budget line — it's embedded in the Mayor's $10.2M Administration budget. The Rat Czar coordinates across agencies (DSNY, DOHMH, Parks, NYCHA) but doesn't control a dedicated budget. DSNY's rat-related contributions — primarily through waste containerization (Concerns #2-3) and enforcement — are budgeted under sanitation operations, not rat mitigation. The 29 Rat Mitigation Zones are a targeting strategy for existing resources, not a new funding stream. Black Widow Termite & Pest Control appears in both DSNY ($701K) and DOHMH ($133K) spending, indicating cross-agency pest control procurement.
Key Context
The "Rat Czar" title (officially Director of Rodent Mitigation) was created in April 2023. The 29 Rat Indexing Zones focus resources on the worst-infested areas, measured by the city's Rat Indexing Protocol. The ContraPest rat contraceptive pilot ($19,992 from SENESTECH INC) is a small proof-of-concept in Harlem — if successful, it could scale significantly. Rat sightings have declined for 9 straight months as of early 2026, which officials attribute to the combined effect of containerization (DSNY), extermination (DOHMH), and set-out time changes. The total pest control apparatus (~$20M) covers all pests (bedbugs, mosquitoes, cockroaches), not just rats.