Another Rat-Filled Harlem Lot Needs A Cleanup, City Says

EAST HARLEM, NY — Another empty East Harlem lot that has become overrun with rats must be cleaned up for the sake of public health, according to the city, which got an emergency order to gain access to the private property.

The city's Health Department filed court papers on Tuesday demanding access to the site at 104-106 East 123rd St.: two adjoining lots just east of Park Avenue that have sat vacant since at least 2009 years, according to Google Maps imagery.

But some unwanted critters have taken up residence: in a September visit, a sanitation inspector found "active rodent signs including active rat burrows with smooth shiny compacted burrow hole openings," the city wrote.

Photos included in the court filing show the empty lot, which is overgrown with weeds, as well as the visible burrows dug into the dirt.

In October, the city sent a letter requesting access to the lot's owner, identified in public records as "PL 123 Realty Group LLC." But it received no response, the city says.

A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice approved the city's access request on Wednesday, one day after it was filed.

In recent months, the city has carried out similar emergency rat cleanups on a handful of other lots around Harlem, including three on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a vacant site on East 125th Street, and a pair on East 103rd and 106th Streets.