Photo Courtesy of Councilman Ulrich’s Office
Ulrich honored The Ryder’s Alley Trencher-fed Society for their help in addressing the rat problem in a section of Ozone Park.
By Forum Staff
City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) on Monday honored the Ryder’s Alley Trencher-fed Society (RATS), an organization of owners and puppies who venture out into the streets of New York City with the sole purpose of hunting and killing vermin, for helping him earlier this month respond to a series of constituent complaints about a rat problem in the Centreville section of Ozone Park.
Ulrich presented founder Richard Reynolds and the entire RATS team with Council citations for their service to the Centreville community. The councilman also made sure to honor the real MVPs: Tanner, Merlin, Rommel, Marcus, Paco, JayJay, Lacey, Mighty, Gracie, Moz, Jiggy and Daisy. He presented each of the fearless pups with a “Vigilante Award,” complete with dog bones and beef jerky treats.
To supplement the City’s extermination efforts in the area, on Friday, Aug. 4, Ulrich invited the RATS team to hunt in Centreville, where residents said a construction project forced rodents out of hiding.
“When traditional methods just aren’t enough, our office looks for new and innovative ways to help solve problems,” Ulrich noted. “When my office got wind of the pesky rat problem in Centreville, we needed to take a different approach, and inviting the RATS team seemed like a fun idea.”
The RATS team honorees included Reynolds, Susan Friedenberg, Judith Todd, William L. Reyna, Jr., Trudy Kawami, Karen Miller, James Hoffman, Patricia Ross, Nancy Bekaert, Carol Wert, Harry Wet, Julia Fremont-Smith and Angela H. Sweeny, all of whom participated in the Centreville hunt organized by Ulrich.
“We are proud of our visit to Centreville, and would like to thank Councilman Ulrich for inviting us to hunt in his district,” Reynolds said. “We are truly humbled by this honor and look forward to collaborating with the councilman in the future.”
RATS, which has been hunting for more than 25 years, responds to every citizen’s call and never accepts money for their services.
“I’d like to thank Richard Reynolds, the RATS team, and our fearless furry friends for coming out to my district,” Ulrich added. “While I hope that the rodents in Centreville are gone for good, I am grateful that the community – and all of New York City – can count on the RATS team.”
Ulrich’s dog, Tiny, also attended Monday’s ceremony. While it doesn’t look like the 8-year-old Yorkshire terrier will be joining the RATS squad for any hunts in the near future, the councilman reported that he did make 12 new friends this week and was named an honorary member of the pack.
