Locals on NYC’s most rat-infested blocks left to fight rodents that ‘pop up’ from inside trash cans

Rats, not again! Tough street rats are “fighting” their human neighbors on several pest-infested blocks in the East Village, with locals saying the critters are popping up from garbage cans and staking claim to cars parked on the street. The overrun blocks are part of an area that saw 300 complaints since January — a whopping 37.6% surge in rodent reports compared to this time last year. Citywide sightings dropped from 12,017 to 9,023 over the same stretch, 311 data shows. The East Village area that saw 300 rodent-related complaints since January. TEEREXZ – stock.adobe.com “Sometimes I’ll be fighting with them,” said longtime Second Avenue porter Steven Perez, adding the rodent population keeps “growing more and more” despite the citywide downturn. “They’ll be in the garbage cans, they’ll