I recently stumbled upon this blurb in Gothamist, which mentioned that NYC's Unofficial Rat Zoo is located in Collect Pond Park, a small dilapidated park located on Leonard Street between Lafayette and Centre. I did a double-take. I live on Leonard Street, just two avenues west! And then I went to check it out. Sure enough, I spotted many a rattus norvegicus, probably even more than captured on this video:
It's interesting how downtown Manhattan is so compressed that a fancy neighborhood like Tribeca can be so close to the unofficial rat zoo of Manhattan. I have never seen a rat anywhere in Tribeca, let alone on my block. It's almost like there's an invisible barrier that lets the rats know that they aren't welcome. Yet two avenues away, in the festering filth of Chinatown, the rats run rampant and free. I had no idea that Collect Pond Park existed before, but now that I know, it'll be much easier to do rat blog research!
You are so lucky to live so close!
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