Live coverage from Day 2 of the inaugural National Urban Rat Summit

Heather Gooch September 19, 2024

IMAGE: NATIONAL URBAN RAT SUMMIT

The inaugural National Urban Rat Summit taking place this week has garnered some mainstream media interest as well as our industry coverage. Such articles include:

CBS
ABC
FOX
Gothamist (Headline: “Rats like to pee on each other, and other lessons from NYC’s Rat Summit”)

For the morning of Day Two, Sept. 19, the seating configuration changed from the previous day’s lecture hall style to small-group tables. Presentations were delivered rapid-fire in six different areas, specifically:

Parks
Residential Yard/Alleys
Sewers
Trash Containerization/Collections
Public Housing
Construction

The last topic, “Construction,” was prepared for by John Ulrich of the City of Boston Inspectional Services. Because of illness, however, Dr. Bobby Corrigan presented Ulrich’s Powerpoint.

Then, before the lunch break, attendees participated in a group question-and-answer session, with both event presenters and experts in the audience able to share insights and experiences. After lunch, attendees returned to the room to break out into small groups on one of the above six topics.

: New York City Rat Czar and event emcee, Kathy Corradi gets the Thursday morning presentations underway. PHOTO: PMP STAFF

: Maddie Baker, who runs the IPM program for the Bryant Park Corp., presented on the “Parks” topic. Bryant Park Corporation (BPC) is a not-for-profit, private management company founded in 1980 to renovate and operate Bryant Park in New York City. PHOTO: PMP STAFF

: Gerard Brown runs DC Health’s rodent abatement program in Washington, DC. He covered the topic of “Residential Yards and Alleys.” PHOTO: PMP STAFF

: Leah Helms, RS, supervisor of Seattle’s Solid Waste, Rodent, and Zoonotic Disease Program, covered the “Sewers” topic. PHOTO: PMP STAFF

: Caroline Bragdon (right) and Rebecca Kriegman covered the “Trash Containerization and Collections” topic. Rebecca is executive director for policy and planning for the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). PHOTO: PMP STAFF