Philadelphia has its first rat abatement manager, and his first assignment is the lower Northeast.
The Department of Public Health announced October 28 that Adrian Jordan, a longtime Health Department employee, will take the newly created role. Jordan was until recently the department’s vector control crew chief, and he is a Carroll Park native.
“I’ve worked to fight rats in Philadelphia for more than twenty years, and I am looking forward to being able to work directly with colleagues from departments across the City to ensure that we are properly prioritizing this,” Jordan said.
The job is a coordination job. Jordan will oversee and mobilize rat abatement across six departments: Public Health, Streets, Sanitation, the Community Life Improvement Program, L&I Quality of Life, and the Water Department. It is the first time the city has designated an official in the role, and it falls under the Parker administration’s “One Philly” approach of bringing multiple departments together on urgent issues.
“Our One Philly approach is proving to be very effective when we bring multiple departments to collaborate to tackle urgent issues,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said. She said the expanded approach starts with the appointment and identifies the lower Northeast as the first target area.
That means door-to-door surveys are coming to parts of the lower Northeast, including Oxford Circle and Castor Gardens. Jordan and the Health Department’s Rat Control Team will knock on doors to identify rat problems and advise residents on prevention, even when no complaint was filed.
The move follows a City Council resolution adopted October 8 urging agencies to prioritize and coordinate efforts against a “growing rodent infestation” in the Lower Northeast. Residents had reported persistent rodent activity blamed on poorly stored trash, vacant or neglected properties, and abandoned cars.
One honest caveat comes from the Health Department itself. Despite the recent online and media buzz about rats in Philadelphia, the city said it has found no documented rise in confirmed rat complaints. The new program is framed as a commitment to a public health problem the city says affects every city in the world.
What comes next is more visibility. The Health Department says a public dashboard tracking complaints and properties receiving service will be made available on the city’s website in the near future. In the meantime, residents are asked not to feed rats and to keep trash in metal cans with tight-fitting lids. Rat problems can be reported to Vector Control Services at 215-685-9000.
PETA has separately urged the city to try rat birth control, an idea that drew online chatter but is not part of the city’s announced plan.
