PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It’s a story that CBS News Philadelphia first told you about a month ago about a rat plague problem for residents of South Philadelphia.
“No other apartment building would allow this,” said BJ Barretta.
Barretta is the neighbor who first told CBS News Philadelphia about the problem facing South Watts Street residents. Since we last spoke to Barretta, he said not much has changed.
“This is no way to live,” he said.
Barretta showed a photo of what he found under the hood of his car Thursday morning. He said it’s a rat nest and evidence that the rodents aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Barretta’s neighbor isn’t happy about it either.
“You don’t want to walk down this street,” said Andy Liberatoscioli.
But these neighbors say the rats are a symptom of a much larger problem. And businesses in the area are improperly storing their waste, which neighbors say keeps the rats in the area.
“This is a block of young families. I have a young daughter,” he said.
Their concerns brought City Councilman Mark Squilla and the health and street departments to South Philadelphia. City officials met with neighbors to learn more about the rat problem and discuss solutions to solving it.
Squilla said he is also speaking to companies in the region.
“We’re going to try to coordinate with most of these companies to see if they’re willing to work together and maybe collaborate so they can store all of their waste in one place and collect it together. That’s the goal,” he said.
Neighbors say they are cautiously optimistic that the problem is finally being addressed.
“I hope for good results and that everyone will work together,” said Liberatoscioli.
