In New York — a city that’s always fighting rats — one women has decided to embrace them. Suzanne Reisman, a self-proclaimed “rat whisperer,” leads a Garbage & Rats walking tour through some of Manhattan’s filthiest alleys and corners. For $40, guests follow her through the underbelly of New York, learning about rodent history and how dog poop functions as an urban snack bar for them. “They’ll kick right through it to find the undigested kibble,” explained Reisman. She wears fuzzy rat ears on her head and treats the 2-hour tour like a cross between a sanitation field trip and an urban wildlife safari. Guests are introduced to the Norway rat — a misleading name, since they’re actually from Asia — and learn how they arrived on Hessian ships in the 1700s and basically never left. At one stop, a Dachshund-sized rat darts out of the bushes, with guests reacting like birdwatchers spotting a rare hawk. Another highlight is the old site of Sportsmen’s Hall, where 19th century gamblers used to bet on dogs fighting rats. Reisman knows her stuff. She’s a graduate of the city’s Rat Academy and a member of the “Rat Pack” — a group of anti-rat activists trained by the sanitation department. The tour regularly sells out, and while Reisman hopes the city’s trash problem gets better, as long as the rats are there, she’s happy to introduce you. New York is the city that never sleeps, and apparently neither do its rats.
