Philly rat abatement manager on tackling citywide infestation

A major step forward in the fight against rats running rampant in some city neighborhoods, appointing its first ever dedicated rat abatement manager. Health Department veteran Adrienne Jordan will lead the new citywide initiative, coordinating with six city departments, including public health, streets and sanitation, to tackle the rat infestations. Our Jennifer Lee reports. The city says the new rat abatement manager, Adrienne Jordan, will address community and quality of life issues that attract rats to homes and businesses. And we're told that work has already gotten started in the Lower Northeast. I do believe that we have a rat problem in the city. From Center City to Chestnut Hill and the Northeast. They're everywhere. You might as well be in New York. Rats are being spotted all across Philadelphia. I mean, I jump and it looks, it feels like it's dirty and I clean my house every day. The rodents are inside people's homes and businesses too. I just caught two of them yesterday at my house inside the house I have a little rat zapper and I caught two of them. To decrease the rat population the city of Philadelphia hired longtime health department employee Adrian Jordan as the first ever rat abatement manager. He says he has been fighting rats in Philly for two decades discussing it all in a city provided interview. You're not trying to go to somebody's house a million times trying you want to dump you have a whole city to do so you got there you deal with the city you deal with the people you got to deal with everything Philadelphia City Council declared the rat population a public health emergency in the lower northeast the city says Jordan will coordinate resources across city departments leading collaboration amongst groups such as public health streets and sanitation door-to-door surveys in Castor Gardens and Oxford Circle have already launched to help identify rat problems. You go back out the inspection go back to a place you know we've been before and they've actually made the repairs. They've actually done this and the complaints are over. That's a good feeling. I have them because I went out there not because anybody went out because somebody legal before me and nothing changed. Despite the buzz about rats and the new hire to manage rodents in Philly the city claims it hasn't found a documented rise and confirmed rat complaints. If the city can't do something about it it would be a good thing because it is, it is really bad. And the city plans on launching a public dashboard online to track resident complaints and to show the properties that have been serviced. We'll also have a phone number at fox29.com that you can call if you see a rat. Jennifer Lee, Fox 29 News.