This week we asked readers if incidents like the man who died when he came in contact with a rat are being under reported or is this a growing epidemic?

I think it’s been under reported. I think a lot of times incidents happen. Even if you’re not bitten, the rats are there and it’s been a problem for New York City, especially here in the Bronx. We need more politicians to bring this issue to Albany for funding. I didn’t know that rat droppings could kill you. I know that people do have allergies and they can get very sick, and maybe this will help to shed light on the issue.
Charlie Carrero
Westchester Square

I think it’s the beginning of a new epidemic because we’ve had rats forever. People may have died, but even more people may have been infected by it including homeless people. They should do an investigation into why people died. I think they should do an extreme extermination. They know what they should do, they have to do it everywhere because rats are like fleas and they breed everywhere.
Evelyn Wallace
Norwood

I do think it’s being under reported. It’s also been known that when rat droppings come in contact with the top of a can of soda and if you don’t rinse it off before you drink from it that could happen as well. So every time I buy anything, I wash it off good with soap and water and then I drink from it. I don’t go near rats and I don’t know how they got in contact with them on the Grand Concourse. Of course more money, but we also need everyone to pitch in. It can’t just be a few buildings, it has to be everyone in the neighborhood.
Valerie Vlado
Bedford Park

There was a guy playing golf next to a rat hole so the rat came up and went up the leg of his pants. He managed to get the rat out, but two weeks later he died. I believe it’s being under reported. The problem has been around but people didn’t know about it. So now it’s coming out because there’s more rats in the streets now. So if you get a rat in your house and you touch the poop, you will get infected because it will go through the pores of your skin and goes into your bloodstream and you get infected. They need to invest more money on rat control and poison.
Juan Enamordo
Concourse Village

I think the poison could possibly kill people too. I don’t see much news about rats, but the rat problem is certainly not being covered in the news. I see a lot of them at the train station. From time to time, maybe once a year I would see a story about rats.
Derek Saldivar
Pelham Parkway

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.