Mayor Adams gets latest $300 rat infestation ticket tossed after convincing officer the problem’s at his neighbor’s property

A $300 ticket lodged against Mayor Adams over an alleged rat infestation at his Brooklyn rowhouse got dismissed last week — after Hizzoner convinced an administrative hearing officer that his neighbor is to blame for the rodent affliction.

The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings officer, Louis Rasso, wrote in a decision that Adams had testified in a virtual hearing on Oct. 31 that the Health Department inspector who issued the ticket apparently mistook his property for his neighbor’s.

“He testified to the steps he’s taken to work with the neighbor to stem any attractions for rodents, but stated he’s not been successful in convincing the neighbor to take action with him,” Rasso wrote in the Nov. 2 decision, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News. “[The mayor] also testified that it did not appear as if the inspector observed [his] property but likely did observe cited burrows and rat signs on the neighbor’s property.”

Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News

Mayor Eric Adams’ rat-infested apartment building on Lafayette Ave. in Brooklyn on Jan. 4, 2023. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)

To back up his claim, Adams submitted footage captured by his security camera showing “that no one appears to be depicted inspecting or stopping at” his Lafayette Avenue building on Sept. 15, the day of the alleged violation.

“[Adams] also argued that the video made clear that his property was free of the active rat signs alleged in the summons,” Russo wrote, noting he considered all those factors in deciding to throw out the ticket.

The neighbor’s property is attached to Adams’ four-story building. The since-scrapped summons Adams was slapped with accused him of failing to “eliminate” an infestation at his pad, as evidenced by “fresh rat droppings” and active “rat burrows” observed in his front yard.

Last week’s dismissal wasn’t Adams’ first rat summons rodeo related to his Bedford-Stuyvesant digs.

The rat-hating mayor has been hit with four tickets for rodent violations at his property since May 2022. He’s gotten three of those dismissed, though he had to cough up $300 to settle the last one.

While contesting one of his previous violations, Adams testified to an OATH officer he has shelled out $7,000 on rat extermination gadgets at his building, where he rents out multiple units. The mayor’s 2022 tax return shows he lost money on the rental property this year — a deficit likely caused in part by his heavy rat mitigation spending.

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Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News

Rat poison left outside next door to Mayor Eric Adams’ apartment building in Brooklyn, Jan. 4, 2023. (Shawn Inglima for New York Daily News)

The persistent rat issues in Adams’ own yard come as he continues to make rodent mitigation a key city government priority.

In April, he appointed Kathleen Corradi as the city’s first ever “rat czar,” tasked with eradicating four-legged pests across the five boroughs.

Asked about the latest summons dismissal, Adams spokesman Charles Lutvak said “the mayor prides himself on keeping his property clean.”

“As we said when this violation was issued, the mayor had clear evidence that no violation occurred at the time of the summons,” Lutvak said. “We are glad the hearing officer agreed with him and promptly dismissed this summons.”