July 24, 2024 A pile of trash litters the ground along West Shore Avenue in Buffalo — a perfect way to attract vermin like rats. “They’re just lackluster when it comes to the East Side of Buffalo,” said one resident of city efforts to mitigate the gnawing problem. “We just learn to adapt to it.
” Vacant lots and trash lead to rat problem for East Side residents The residents of French Street on Buffalo's East Side have had it with the neighbors. Not the humans. The four-legged, long-tailed, toothy kind that like to hang around trash strewn on the ground.
“We had rats, man, that was like this here,” said Maurice Scott, holding his hands about a foot apart from each other. Over the past 16 years, properties in the neighborhood have been the subject of more 311 calls per person for rodent and pest control than any other neighborhood in Buffalo, according to city data. And three of the other top five neighborhoods – Broadway Fillmore, Genesee-Moselle and the Fruit Belt – are also on the East Side, bordering MLK Park to the south and east.
Experts say rat and bug problems indicate two primary "upstream" causes: poor waste management and a lack of exclusion, which is the patching of pest entry points in buildings. Indeed, the rodents are plentiful on French Street thanks to a veritable smorgasbord of garbage to choose from on the street in the heart of the city’s MLK Park neighborhood: Minute Maid bottles, McDonald’s bags, food wrappers, red Solo cups, and plenty of other trash on the curbs and in the tall-grassed empty lots lining the street. Rats have become dependent on poor human hygiene for food, and run-down rental properties can give them routes to weasel their way inside for shelter, said Dr.
Michael H. Parsons, an urban rat expert formerly of Fordham University who currently runs a consultancy business called the Centre for Urban Ecological Solutions, and Dr. Changlu Wang, an urban pest researcher at Rutgers University.
– Justin O'Connor READ MORE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT Mystery still unsolved: Niagara Falls Police conclude probe into Rainbow Bridge crash that killed couple: Niagara Falls Police have been unable to reach a conclusion on what caused a high-powered Bentley luxury car to suddenly accelerate to a high speed before it launched into the air, crashed and exploded on the Rainbow Bridge. Read more Showing a little puppy love, CDC relaxes proposed dog import rules: After weeks of complaints from dog owners, the nation's health czars on Monday essentially rescinded their proposed regulations that could have left countless American dogs stranded in Canada and other nations. Read more 97 Rock's 'Slick Tom' Tiberi fired over Facebook meme showing Trump in coffin: Tiberi said he shared the "edgy" and "dark-humored" image on his personal Facebook page before the attempt on Trump's life earlier this month and took down the post soon afterward.
Read more Three charged following fights at Williamsville's Old Home Days: Police disclosed the incidents in a news release late Tuesday morning after The Buffalo News requested information about any disturbances at last week's festival. Read more Amid rise in overdose deaths, Erie County launches $1 million campaign to keep drug users alive: More county residents are dying of drug overdoses than ever, and more than half of them are cocaine users, so Erie County is launching a $1 million public awareness campaign with new messaging. Read more Former Lancaster supervisor responds to audit findings: Ronald Ruffino said the timing of the audit and the release of the report was unfortunate, but he believes he left the town in better financial shape.
Read more Poloncarz, Baskin announce second round of affordable housing awards: The funds, made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act, are expected to be approved by the Erie County Legislature later this week. Contracts will go to five local developers. Read more WEATHER Clouds arrive: Partly cloudy with a stray shower or thunderstorm is possible.
High of 78 degrees. Read more FOOD & DRINK Overwinter Coffee started making espresso lemonades this summer. This week in Buffalo food: Espresso lemonade comes to Buffalo, National Wing Day and restaurant news: Espresso lemonade is exactly what it sounds like – a bold, hot shot of espresso poured into a cold glass of lemonade – and is currently on the menu at all three Overwinter Coffee locations.
Read more BUFFALO NEXT Community Bank sued over deposits in Five Star fraud case: The complaint by Katherine Mott's businesses connected to the Five Star case is the latest twist in a case that became public knowledge in March. Read more Wells Enterprises increases expansion of Dunkirk ice cream-making plant: Wells Enterprises is nearly doubling the investment it is making to expand its ice cream-making plant. The project will now be worth $425 million, instead of the previously planned $250 million.
Read more Buffalo Niagara unemployment rate dips as hiring outpaces influx of student workers: The region's unemployment rate dipped to 3.9% during June, slightly below May's 4% rate, even though roughly 3,600 new workers joined the local labor force last month, the state Labor Department reported Tuesday. Read more BILLS Bills Mailbag: Who emerges as the team's No.
1 receiver?: The Buffalo Bills are in suburban Rochester to kick off another training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford. They’ll take to the practice field for the first time Wednesday.
That makes it a good time for a Bills Mailbag. Read more Ryan O'Halloran: Is Bills' current plan at safety the right plan?: Justin Simmons or Quandre Diggs joining the Bills would be mutually beneficial for player and team. Until either joins a team this summer, they should be on GM Brandon Beane’s radar, O'Halloran says.
Read more SABRES Sabres settle on two-year deal with Beck Malenstyn to avoid arbitration: Malenstyn, 26, was acquired during the NHL draft in Las Vegas from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick and is expected to be an anchor on Buffalo's fourth line. Read more OLYMPICS She missed the Olympics in 2020. She lost her father.
Now, this Lancaster native is in the Paris Games: Kristen Romano was three-tenths of a second away from being an automatic qualifier for Puerto Rico in the women’s 200-meter individual medley. Instead, she missed the games altogether when she was not selected by the Puerto Rican Swimming Federation. She felt like she'd reached the nadir of her career.
She was suffering from imposter syndrome and mulling retirement. Read more PHOTOS #EveryDayAPhoto: Check out our photo series each morning to see our favorite image of the day . View more photo galleries here .
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