On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams announced that there is a new leader in charge of New York City’s battle against rats.

At a press conference, the mayor of New York introduced Kathleen Corradi, a former employee of the Department of Education, to be the first official with broad rat control powers in New York in his efforts to combat the growing rodent population.

“You’re going to see a lot more of me and you’re going to see a lot less rats,” Corradi, whose official title is Citywide Rodent Control Manager, told a news conference.

Adams, who often expresses his strong hatred of rats, posted a job advertisement last year, targeting a “somewhat bloodthirsty” person with a “general aura of toughness” and offering an annual salary of between $120,000 and $170,000.

Korradi, a former teacher, is not new to fighting rats. She previously oversaw rat control efforts in the city’s public schools.

Data for New York City indicates that rat appearances have increased in the past few years. Some officials say that the spread of eating on the sidewalks as a result of the Corona pandemic, which caused the closure of the city’s restaurants, exacerbated the problem.

It is not known how many rats are in the city. A 2014 study estimated their number at two million, or one for every four of the population.