Rat-Obsessed Guide Leads Visitors Through NYC’s Rodent Hotspots
In a city that never sleeps—and never seems to run out of rats—Suzanne Reisman has found her calling. Her “Garbage & Rats in NYC” walking tour reveals the city’s trashy underbelly in ways both hilarious and educational. With fuzzy ears on her head and endless stories in her pocket, Reisman offers a side of Manhattan few dare to explore.
Faux Rat Ears & Street Cred
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Suzanne Reisman kicks off each tour wearing a pair of fuzzy gray rat ears. Her outfit breaks the ice instantly and eases strangers into laughter before the first rat fact even lands.
Graduate of the Rat Academy
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Believe it or not, New York actually trains rat experts. Reisman proudly holds a certificate from the city’s Rat Academy, a sanitation-led crash course in rodent behavior and prevention. She’s also part of the “Rat Pack,” an official team of activists spreading awareness with humor and data. Her background makes the tour more than entertainment.
Tour Pricing and Duration
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The two-hour adventure costs around forty dollars, and every minute is informative. Guests wander Lower Manhattan’s alleys while learning how garbage and rodents shaped the city’s past. The price is just enough to make you commit, but not enough to regret stepping into a damp alleyway.
Origins of the Rats in NYC
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According to Reisman, New York’s rodent story began centuries ago when brown rats—often mislabeled as “Norway rats”—arrived from Asia aboard Hessian ships. Once they landed, they found paradise: endless food waste, open sewers, and no natural predators. “They looked around and thought, jackpot,” she jokes. It’s a simple image that explains a lot.
Trash + Rats = Historical Partners
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In early Manhattan, people dumped everything—from food scraps to animal remains—straight into the streets or rivers. The mess created the perfect breeding ground for rodents. Reisman doesn’t romanticize it, but she laughs at the irony.
Sex Up to 20 Times a Day
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Rats can mate up to twenty times in a single day. Reisman delivers that gem mid-tour, and it helps guests understand how infestations spread so quickly. By the time she’s done explaining, the crowd views every rustling trash pile as a potential mating zone.
Historic “Rat Pits” and Sportsmen’s Hall
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Some stops dig into grim history, like the former Sportsmen’s Hall—once home to 1800s rat-baiting matches. In those brutal events, gamblers placed bets on dogs killing rats for sport. Reisman handles these parts with sensitivity.
Terrains: Alleys, Square, City Hall Park
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Reisman leads her guests through spots that don’t make guidebooks—Theatre Alley, Ann Street, and DeLury Square among them. Each corner has forgotten stories about trash strikes, rat infestations, and sanitation heroes. The walk ends at City Hall Park, a patch of green that rests above centuries of buried garbage.
Estimated Rat Population
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How many rats call New York home? Estimates vary, but Reisman’s favorite figure—about 225,000—always earns gasps. She jokes that the number’s “probably higher,” and that if you spot one rat during the day, there are likely ten nearby.
Dog Poop as Rodent Snack Bar
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When Reisman explains that rats sift through dog poop to find undigested kibble, people squirm. “It’s like a buffet,” she says, straight-faced. The revelation disgusts and fascinates in equal measure.
Draws Locals & Tourists Alike
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Her tours attract both lifelong New Yorkers and out-of-towners craving authenticity. One Boston tourist summed it up perfectly: “We saw live rats, a pancake rat, and a guy throwing up in a gutter—it was perfect.” Only in New York could disgust sound like a cherished memory.
Wear Comfortable Shoes: It’s Not Fancy
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This isn’t a luxury experience, and that’s exactly the point. Reisman advises guests to wear sneakers and embrace the grime. The tour meanders through damp alleys and cobblestone backstreets. When something scurries across the curb, Reisman simply smiles and says, “That’s a free bonus sighting.”
Connection to City Policies
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Between the jokes and squeals, Reisman slips in some city facts. She discusses the 1968 sanitation strike that changed waste management, why black garbage bags attract rats, and how the new “Empire Bins” aim to curb infestations. The aim is to show that the rat problem is really a people problem in disguise.
Tour Sold Out Wait-lists Are Real
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Demand for Reisman’s rat tours is wild. Every session sells out, and rain doesn’t stop the crowds. Some sign up months ahead. The fascination is about seeing New York unfiltered. In a city built on reinvention, even its rats have managed to become local celebrities.
You’ll Never See Rats Quite the Same Way Again
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By the end, guests usually admit they’ve changed their minds about rats with a strange form of respect. Reisman calls rats “New York’s toughest survivors”—creatures that adapt, thrive, and mirror the city’s energy. It’s an unexpectedly thoughtful conclusion. You leave with knowledge that the city’s dirtiest residents might also be its most persistent.