NY Mayor Adams gets latest $300 rat infestation ticket tossed after convincing officer the problem’s at his neighbor’s property

NEW YORK — A $300 ticket lodged against Mayor Eric Adams over an alleged rat infestation at his Brooklyn rowhouse got dismissed last week — after Hizzoner convinced an administrative hearing officer that his neighbor is to blame for the rodent affliction.

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings officer, Louis Rasso, wrote in a decision that Adams had testified in a virtual hearing on Oct. 31 saying the Health Department inspector who issued the ticket apparently mistook his property for his neighbor’s.

“He testified to the steps he’s taken to work with the neighbor to stem any attractions for rodents, but stated he’s not been successful in convincing the neighbor to take action with him,” Rasso wrote in the Nov. 2 decision, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News. “[The mayor] also testified that it did not appear as if the inspector observed [his] property but likely did observe cited burrows and rat signs on the neighbor’s property.”

To back up his claim, Adams submitted footage captured by his front security camera showing “that no one appears to be depicted inspecting or stopping at” his Lafayette Avenue building on Sept. 15, the day of the alleged offense.

“[Adams] also argued that the video made clear that his property was free of the active rat signs alleged in the summons,” Russo added, noting that he considered all those factors in deciding to throw out the ticket.

The neighbor’s property is attached to Adams’ four-story building.

Last week’s dismissal wasn’t Adams’ first rat summons rodeo related to his Bedford-Stuyvesant digs.

The rat-hating mayor has been hit with four tickets for rodent violations at his property since May 2022. He’s gotten two of those dismissed, though he had to cough up $600 to settle the other two.

The persistent rat issues in Adams’ own front yard come as he continues to make rodent mitigation a key priority for his city government agenda.

In April, he appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city’s first ever rat mitigation coordinator, tasked with eradicating four-legged pests across the five boroughs. Though her formal title is coordinator, Corradi is widely known as the Big Apple’s “rat czar.”

Asked about the summons dismissal, Adams spokesman Charles Lutvak said “the mayor prides himself on keeping his property clean.”

“As we said when this violation was issued, the mayor had clear evidence that no violation occurred at the time of the summons,” Lutvak said. “We are glad the hearing officer agreed with him and promptly dismissed this summons.”