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NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

businessinsider.com

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Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#51

Post by Ericson2314 »

sschueller wrote: post #30
otoburb wrote: post #5

>> [...] a lot of people don't want to give up street parking spots for garbage containers. This is an understatement. A New Yorker with a car that doesn't/can't pay the monthly indoor garage fees will fight tooth and nail for street parking.

Solutions exist[1] that provide a very large trash storage with little above ground space. [1] https://www.villiger.com/en/products#underground-systems

Yes we absolutely need those. But they will still reduce parking spaces. This is an unavoidable fight, and one that vast majority of non-far-outer-borough New Yorkers who don't drive need to win.

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#53

Post by code_runner »

notjustanymike wrote: post #8
lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

Trash cans aren't viable because of shortcomings in our infrastructure; we don't have alleyways. Large apartment buildings use dumpsters or basement trash rooms, but you can't exactly cart those out on to the sidewalk. Street side pickup is the only option barring rebuilding the city, and a garbage man isn't picking up an entire trash can. Having a truck pick up the garbage can would also encounter issues with space…

when walking through some neighborhoods (parts of park slope) i saw almost exclusively trash cans at every residence. At any rate, to say its impossible to implement trash cans just sounds nuts. I'm sure it truly is complicated, but not viable? I don't think so.

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#54

Post by kibwen »

FFP999 wrote: post #31
Red_Leaves_Flyy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Substandard, decrepit, and unreliable to the point of necessitating alternative means compared to advanced economies.

The real problem is that, for all that, it's still probably the best transit system in the USA. I live in Boston and I would trade the MBTA for the NYC MTA in a heartbeat. (Though to be fair, I would also trade the MBTA for a handful of shiny rocks, that being about equivalent in value.)

And yet Boston's MBTA is still one of the top 5 best transit systems in the country, which is saying something. (Fun fact: Boston's red/orange/blue lines are also the most cost-efficient transit system in the US, as measured by farebox recovery ratio.)

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#55

Post by Ericson2314 »

Analemma_ wrote: post #3
lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

New Yorkers are so precious about this. I've heard pages and pages of excuses why trash containers can't possibly work in New York City, despite literally every other city in the developed world-- including all the others in the United States-- somehow managing to master this arcane technology.

I live in New York. I believe it will work. It's the street-parking minority that is in denial.

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#56

Post by drfuchs »

Analemma_ wrote: post #3
lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

New Yorkers are so precious about this. I've heard pages and pages of excuses why trash containers can't possibly work in New York City, despite literally every other city in the developed world-- including all the others in the United States-- somehow managing to master this arcane technology.

The Back Bay section of Boston begs to differ. Even with alleyways between the streets, still no trash cans, just plastic bags (that get chewed through pretty much uniformly).

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#57

Post by crazygringo »

Analemma_ wrote: post #3
lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

New Yorkers are so precious about this. I've heard pages and pages of excuses why trash containers can't possibly work in New York City, despite literally every other city in the developed world-- including all the others in the United States-- somehow managing to master this arcane technology.

Nobody's saying they can't work, they're just saying it's an expensive transformation that involves tradeoffs.

Which is in large part because of the way NYC was laid out originally -- no back alleys where garbage could be stored and collected, in order to reduce areas for potential crime.

If it were as simple as you imply, it would have been done already. Guess what -- it's actually pretty complex, but containerization is a major focus of the current administration. Nobody's being "precious" about anything -- there's no need to be insulting.

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#58

Post by micromacrofoot »

lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

It's not really a solution, because even then no one's perfect about using them, but it can help. Rats will chew right through a plastic trash can if they're desperate, and steel dumpsters eventually rust out and create nice little rat doors.

Almost ever major city has some level of rat problem, with underground transit and other man-made tunnels I believe the problem is essentially impossible to solve. It's all about management.

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#59

Post by PennRobotics »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #22
otoburb wrote: post #5

>> [...] a lot of people don't want to give up street parking spots for garbage containers. This is an understatement. A New Yorker with a car that doesn't/can't pay the monthly indoor garage fees will fight tooth and nail for street parking.

On the other hand, it's a reminder of how car-brained we are. You can fit a dumpster in the space that a single SUV takes up, but even in NYC that driver's convenience is more important than a basic amenity like waste management.

That's a $225,000 dumpster as of 2007: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12parking.html

Re: NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful – for now

#60

Post by Ericson2314 »

scientaster2 wrote: post #6
lalaland1125 wrote: post #2

The real solution is quite simple: trash cans The reason why NYC has such a rat epidemic is because they literally throw their trash bags on the street. Which leads to some getting ripped open and leaving food for pests.

The first time I visited NYC, I was appalled that so many people just casually live in the stink of street trash 24/7. They just don't see it as an issue, strangely

Everyone sees this as an issue, and many know that European recessed underground containers on the street are the solution. (No allies needed.)

But the car lobby, despite being a clear minority, is really strong. It sucks.

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