Press Release
SOUTH AMBOY – At the August 15th meeting of the Mayor and City Council several residents spoke about sightings of rats in several specific locations in the City. In response to these complaints the City mobilized several key departments including, Health, Zoning, Code Enforcement, and the Department of Public Works to immediately address the problem.
Are Rats Becoming A Problem in South Amboy?
On August 16th Mayor Fred Henry, Council President Mickey Gross along with the City Business Administrator and representatives from the Middlesex County Health Department did a walking tour of the affected areas to determine the best course of action.
“Clearly”, said Mayor Henry, “despite the distribution of informational flyers in May to City residents encouraging folks to clean up their yards there are several, who despite the best efforts of our City Health Inspector simply will not maintain their property. Sadly, some of these properties have deteriorated to the extent that they may be harboring rodents. We cannot and will not allow this problem to go unaddressed.”
In order to address the complaints, the City dispatched representatives from Health and Code Enforcement to cite property owners who are not maintaining their yards in accordance with City Ordinance. In the course of these inspections several uninhabited bank owned properties were identified and the responsible parties were also contacted and cited to ensure that immediate corrective actions were taken.
Additionally, the City has arranged for a special bulk pickup schedule City wide in the month of September to afford property owners to dispose of items that may be accumulating in their yards to remove any potential harborages for rodents.
According to Health Officials rodents are attracted to areas by available food and water. This often comes in the form of garbage cans without lids, garbage bags left out of containers, and standing water. In addition, piles of debris, unkept lawns and even abandoned vehicles can provide safe haven for all forms of undesirable animals.
“Health, Code Enforcement, and Zoning Officers have been directed by the Business Administrator to engage in a vigorous enforcement campaign to compel negligent homeowners to come in to compliance. On the first day of this stepped-up campaign 21 summonses were issued.”, said Henry. In instances where there is continued non-compliance the City will conduct the cleanup and use liens to recover the cost.
