Exclusive | Trendy NYC nabe sees 37% surge in rat sightings in 2026 even as reports dip citywide

Rat-a-fooey!Manhattan’s East Village is experiencing a rodent resurgence with a whopping 37.6% increase in rat sightings year over year — even as reports fell dramatically citywide this year, according to Big Apple public records.Community Board 3 in Manhattan — comprised of the East Village, the Lower East Side, Two Bridges and swaths of Chinatown — saw the critters surging despite significant investments in trash containerization and other anti-pest measures.The area generated 300 complaints between Jan.1 to July 11 this year — up from 218 over the same period last year while most other districts saw a steep decline in rodent activity, according to a Post review of city 311 complaint data.Citywide sightings dropped from 12,017 to 9,023 over the same stretch, the data shows.“When I first moved in, I would definitely say they were the biggest problem,” said East Village resident Ahan Shah, 26, adding the rats are “especially a problem at night.”“I’ll walk in the middle of the street,” chimed in 23-year-old local Nico, “because I’m scared they’ll run by me.”“I get scared,” said 20-year-old Elijah Orellana, who works as a porter at an apartment building on Canal Street in Chinatown.

“They’re all near the garbage bins and where all the trash bags are.”Sanitation department spokesman Vincent Gragnani told The Post the dramatic data can be attributed to just three problem areas in the district: Second Avenue between East Seventh Street and St.Mark’s Place; East Fifth Street between Cooper Square and Second Avenue; and Broome Street between Ludlow and Orchard Streets.The latter saw an increase in rat reports by 400% compared to 2025 figures, the department said, adding that a handful of problem addresses on East Fifth Street and Broome Street account for the increase — and “potentially reflect issues inside the individual buildings.”Unlike some other parts of Manhattan, the East Village is still littered with piles of bl...