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The <keyword id="66" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="delhi" source="Orion">Delhi</keyword> government is running COVID-19 inoculation camps at high-footfall locations of the city such as metro stations, markets, malls and areas near wine shops to widen the vaccination coverage, officials said on Monday. The national capital has been witnessing an upward trend in coronavirus cases for the past few days and doctors have been emphasising that those still unvaccinated should get the shots. Among other measures, the number of <keyword id="3132992" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aam-aadmi-mohalla-clinics" source="Orion">Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics</keyword> running vaccination centres have been raised from about 60 in early July to over 140 now, officials said. <keyword id="8764262" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="covid" source="Orion">Covid</keyword> cases in Delhi have registered a rise in the last few days. For three consecutive days till Sunday, the city logged over 700 cases daily with the positivity rate climbing to 5.57 per cent on July 24, according to official data. On June 1, the city had logged 623 Covid cases while the number of infections registered on May 30 was 946. Delhi health department officials said the government aims to maximise vaccination coverage. Several steps have been taken to boost the number of vaccinated people as inoculation is a key step in combating the pandemic, which is far from over, they said. "We aim to maximise vaccination coverage and we have been initiating many outreach programmes, including door-to-door surveys, to achieve it. "Besides, we have had instructions from the chief secretary to target high-footfall areas in the city. We have chosen malls, markets, metro stations, 'Kanwar' camps and even near wine shops where people gather in large numbers," the senior official told PTI. Vaccination camps are being set up in these identified areas. In residential areas, camps are held for a day or so in association with RWAs depending on the size of the unvaccinated cohort in the area, officials said. "We set up our camps on the premises of identified metro stations, near the entry and exit points, and also in other high-footfall areas like malls and markets. We want maximum vaccination coverage and if a section of people is not coming to immunisation centres, we will go to them," the senior official said. Experts have been reiterating that people eligible for COVID-19 vaccination should get their jabs without delay. Doctors have pointed out that despite three waves of the pandemic and a rise in cases again lately, many people are still hesitant and have not even got their first dose. On Sunday, Delhi logged 729 Covid cases and two fatalities, according to data shared by the <keyword id="11908381" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="city-health-department" source="Orion">city health department</keyword>. According to the Sunday bulletin, the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the city was 3,56,02,514 while the number of precaution jabs given was 20,39,022. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 17 appealed to Delhiites to get the COVID-19 precaution doses, saying only around 10 per cent of people in the city have done so. He also appealed to parents to get their children in the 12-17 age group vaccinated with the second jab. Asked about the several Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics being also used as Covid vaccination centres, officials said multiple factors come into play when deciding which sites would be chosen. "It depends on the size of the unvaccinated cohort in the area, the response of people to short-duration camps run once or twice a week and the proximity to the nearest Covid vaccination centres. The district immunisation officer decides it based on these factors and the final call is made by the higher authorities," the senior official said. The national capital currently has about 520 mohalla clinics that offer free primary health care services and 212 types of tests to patients. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2 last year. The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified comorbid conditions. Vaccination for all people aged above 45 years began on April 1 last year. The government then decided to expand the ambit of the vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 years to be inoculated against Covid from May 1 last year. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/droupadi-murmu-takes-oath-as-15th-president-of-india/articleshow/93100659.cms">Droupadi Murmu takes oath as 15th President of India</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/list-of-top-new-upcoming-whatsapp-features-in-second-half-2022/articleshow/93103440.cms">From avatars to hiding online status—list of top new upcoming WhatsApp features</a>

From malls to metros, Delhi govt running vaccination camps in high-footfall areas to widen coverage

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The roads are perilous for NYC's app-based delivery drivers on e-bikes and other micro-mobility vehicles.</li><li>NYC infrastructure lags, with few protected bike lanes or designated moped and e-bike lanes.</li></ul>If you've ordered takeout recently in New York City, chances are your food was whisked to your front door by a delivery driver on an electric bicycle or moped.But what you likely didn't consider when you made your order was that the person hand-delivering your dinner may have risked their life to get it to you.New York City delivery workers who don't use cars have one of the deadliest jobs in the city. There are now more than 65,000 app-based restaurant delivery workers in the city, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/05/business/delivery-workers-new-york-bathrooms-ebikes/index.html">about 80%</a> of them use e-bikes and motorbikes.The fatality rate for these workers was at least 36 per 100,000 between January 2021 and June 2022, the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/workers/Delivery-Worker-Study-November-2022.pdf">reported</a>. That's more than 5 times the fatality rate for construction workers in New York City, which was seven per 100,000 in 2020, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bls.gov/iif/state-data/fatal-occupational-injuries-in-new-york-city-2020.htm">according to</a> the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most driver deaths are a result of traffic crashes, though workers are also subject to a high rate of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/09/nyregion/delivery-workers-robberies-nyc.html">violent robbery</a>.App-based delivery drivers are also being severely injured at extremely high rates. The city report found that 28.7% of e-bike or moped delivery workers experienced injuries that forced them to miss work, lose consciousness, or seek medical care. Complicating matters, delivery drivers are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/workers/Delivery-Worker-Public-Hearing-Written-Testimony-061522.pdf">disproportionately immigrants,</a> and many are living in the country illegally, so they avoid reporting these crimes to the police or seeking medical care for fear of deportation.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, transportation and material-moving jobs have the second-highest fatality rates nationwide after farming, fishing, and forestry.<h2 id="61e96346-a699-43db-ba1b-0176a2336762">Inadequate infrastructure</h2>The increase in bicycles and electric-powered non-car vehicles on the streets is a huge win for the climate and for street safety in general — more efficient, greener transportation and fewer cars and delivery trucks on the roads is a good thing.But New York City's infrastructure is way behind. The roads are designed to move cars and trucks as quickly as possible, with little accountability for dangerous driving and very little protected space for anyone getting around by bike or scooter. Just 3% of the city's roads have protected bike lanes, and just 1% of intersections have red light cameras, Bloomberg recently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-03-11/new-york-city-s-decade-long-battle-for-pedestrian-safety">reported</a>.Delivery drivers aren't the only New Yorkers at high risk of being killed in a traffic accident. Bicycle deaths, overall, hit a 24-year high in 2023. Most of the 30 cyclists who were killed in crashes last year died in collisions with automobiles — mostly trucks or SUVs — on streets without bike lanes, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/05/nyregion/nyc-cyclist-deaths-ebike.html">a New York Times analysis</a>.Without sufficient safe infrastructure, cyclists — and all kinds of non-car drivers — opt for sidewalks, where they can disrupt pedestrians, or dangerous roads where they're <a target="_blank" href="https://abc7ny.com/food-deliveryman-killed-cyclist-sunset-park-new-york-city/5001979/">no match for cars</a> and trucks.The surge in delivery drivers on e-bikes, scooters, mopeds, and motorbikes has created some safety and quality-of-life issues for everyone else on the street as well.In January, New York Mayor Eric Adams <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-24/nyc-launches-city-office-to-regulate-e-bike-delivery-boom">announced the creation</a> of a new department of sustainable delivery tasked with regulating commercial delivery services that use bikes and other micro-mobility vehicles.The city's Department of Transportation insists it's taking seriously street safety for delivery workers and others using multi-modal transportation. A spokesperson for the department told Business Insider that it built more protected bike lanes last year — 32 miles of them — than all other major US cities combined.But that falls far short of the <a target="_blank" href="https://projects.transalt.org/bikelanes">50 miles of protected lanes</a> it aimed to build last year. The department also noted it's working to expand certain well-used bike lanes and the number of bus-mounted cameras that ticket drivers that block bike and bus lanes.<div type="image" title="A memorial ghost bike stands in memory of Jose Alvarado, a delivery worker killed by a hit-and-run driver in the South Bronx." height="851" width="1280" msid="110701998" hostid="261" sizebytes="259308"></div>Advocates for safer streets say the city needs to do much more to build better infrastructure. They're asking for wider protected bike lanes, or even separate lanes for e-bikes and mopeds, and charging facilities for e-bikes."The City is going backwards on street safety. The number of fatalities and injuries will only continue to rise unless the City matches the huge surge in e-bikes and mopeds with infrastructure improvements, dedicated e-bike lanes, investments in slow and shared streets, and accountability from food delivery companies," New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement to Business Insider.<h2 id="de5185f6-21dd-4bd9-a400-d90aff2f80bd">Little accountability</h2>App-based delivery workers' status as gig workers — contractors rather than employees — is central to their plight. Food delivery companies — including giants like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash — don't have to provide them with benefits, including health insurance.And they didn't have to provide them with minimum pay until last year when the city implemented <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/nyc-delivery-workers-minimum-wage-app-45d1fe3a184bc1a49acef647d6cb5758">a minimum wage</a> for app-based restaurant delivery drivers. In April, the mayor announced the hourly wage would be bumped to $19.56 per hour, before tips — a big improvement on the average of $5.39 per hour that workers made before the law went into effect.Ligia Guallpa, executive director of the worker advocacy group the Workers Justice Project, blames food delivery companies for creating unsafe working conditions by incentivizing workers to deliver as many orders as they can as quickly as possible, and to work late at night, during storms, and in other risky conditions. Advocates for delivery workers hope minimum pay will lessen these incentives."The number one reason we have been advocating for fair pay in the app delivery industry is because having dignified pay actually translates into safety on the streets," Guallpa, who was <a target="_blank" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/new-york-inside-power-list.html">a driving force</a> behind the creation of minimum pay for app workers, told Business Insider. "Minimum pay really means that you can actually drive safely when you're riding to make that delivery."A spokesperson for DoorDash said the company offers all drivers occupational accident insurance, and has a trust and safety team available to support drivers around the clock. Uber similarly insisted the company is "deeply committed to building innovative features, promoting safe behavior on the road, and working with safety experts to raise the bar on safety," according to a spokesperson.Guallpa's group wants to see a slew of other changes to improve worker safety, including boosting worker protections and investments in infrastructure like bike lanes and bike parking, better education for workers and connections to city resources, and stronger enforcement of the employers' obligations.Lander and Guallpa also want the companies to help their joint effort to create "Deliverista hubs" — storefronts and converted newsstands where workers can take breaks, charge their bikes, get training, and be connected with city resources like health insurance. Three hubs are in the works — one near City Hall in lower Manhattan, one on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and one in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Guallpa said.Keeping delivery workers safe should be a public priority, Guallpa said. Indeed, "New Yorkers are dependent on app delivery workers to keep them safe and fed during times of crisis," she added.Are you a delivery driver who uses an e-bike or moped? If you're interested in sharing your story, reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:erelman@businessinsider.com">erelman@businessinsider.com</a>.

Delivering food on an e-bike or moped is a deadly endeavor in New York City 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A millennial woman won the <keyword id="19901403" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-York-City" source="keywords">New York City</keyword> <keyword id="21279048" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="affordable-housing-lottery" source="keywords">affordable-housing lottery</keyword> after applying for two years.</li><li>Nkenge Clarke, 30, now pays about $1,000 in monthly rent for her one-bedroom <keyword id="21279047" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manhattan-apartment" source="keywords">Manhattan apartment</keyword>.</li></ul>Nkenge Clarke first heard about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-funding-adu-tiny-homehousing-shortage-2023-11">New York City</a> <keyword id="21279049" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="housing-lottery" source="keywords">housing lottery</keyword> system four years ago while she was at work. "Someone told me that they won a lottery apartment, and I was like, 'What's that?'" Clarke, 30, told Business Insider. Back then, Clarke was working in the tech industry and lived at home with her mother in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-to-be-a-mom-on-the-upper-west-side-of-new-york-city-2019-5">Upper Manhattan</a>. "Once they told me about it, I ended up going online to search the website, but I didn't really pay too much attention to it at the beginning," Clarke said. Fast-forward two years, and Clarke was ready to move out and live on her own. <div type="image" title="A woman wearing a denim top and jacket." height="854" width="1138" msid="109177659" hostid="261"></div>"That's when I started to apply. But, of course, with these things, I know they take time, so I was hoping for the best," Clarke said. It would take her another two years and more than 130 applications before she finally succeeded in her bid for an apartment, she said. It couldn't have come at a better time. Clarke had just quit her job to become a freelance <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/itsnkenge">photographer</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@itsnkenge/videos">content creator</a>. She was also living in a different apartment after moving out of her mom's house, and her rent was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/single-family-city-living-costs-income-nyc-la-inflation-rates-2024-3">getting too expensive</a>. Rent was about $1,940, and if she had stayed for another year, it would have been more than $2,000, she said. "This place literally came just in time, like a few months before my second-year lease ended," Clarke said. <h2>A long, drawn-out process</h2>The <a target="_blank" href="https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/about-us">affordable-housing lotteries</a> are run by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, or HPD, and the Housing Development Corporation. Both rental units and homeownership units are available, and application is free. To qualify for a lottery apartment, each household must meet specific income and size requirements, and these vary across the developments depending on unit size and location. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/nyregion/nyc-affordable-housing-lottery.html">The New York Times</a> reported in 2020 that since 2013, there had been more than 25 million applications submitted for about 40,000 units. In 2018, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/realestate/better-than-the-powerball.html">odds of winning the housing lottery</a> were 1 in 592, the Times reported. The HPD didn't respond to a request for comment from BI. Applying for the housing lottery was a long process that required a lot of patience and paperwork, and Clarke ran into a few hiccups along the way. "It took me maybe over a year before I started hearing back from different properties that I applied to," Clarke said. "Some of them I ended up not qualifying for, some of them I didn't provide enough documentation for." Some of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/downloads/pdfs/services/after-you-apply-english.pdf">paperwork</a> included pay stubs, tax returns, as well as receipts for rent and recent gas or electric bills from where she'd been living before. <div type="image" title="A living room with a yellow sofa and lots of house plants." height="4169" width="3960" msid="109177661" hostid="261"></div>Even after getting the news that she qualified for an apartment, it took another three months before she was able to move in at the start of May last year. "I started submitting documents at the beginning of February and getting things rolling in terms of being accepted by the place," Clarke said. Clarke's one-bedroom apartment is in Chelsea, a neighborhood on the west side of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-studio-apartment-listing-no-bathroom-instagram-2024-2">Manhattan</a>, and her <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-renter-landlord-overcharged-rent-stabilized-apartment-lawsuit-backpay-2024-2">rent is stabilized</a>. It's a two-year lease with an option for renewal. Her apartment costs $1,081 a month, but since she gets a utility allowance of $85, she ends up paying $996 for rent, as well as an additional $54 monthly for amenity fees. The median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea is $5,232, according to the latest April data from RentHop.com. "The day I moved in, I was super excited. I felt blessed," Clarke said. "It was like things were coming together, with the opportunity for me to take my business to the next level in a way where I don't feel stressed out about bills and all the things that adulting has to offer." Her apartment came with some standard <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shoppers-buying-smart-fridge-craft-ice-washer-dryer-machine-lowes-2024-2">appliances</a>, including a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator, although she says that's not always the case. <div type="image" title="Plants in front of a big standing mirror." height="4396" width="4284" msid="109177662" hostid="261"></div>"There are a wide range of apartments that offer different things, so it's just up to you as the applicant to apply for the ones that you want or that you're open to," Clarke said. Although the housing-lottery website has a list of amenities displayed for each apartment block, it doesn't specify which appliances each apartment within the block has, she says. "For example, in this building that I'm in, there are quite a few apartments available," Clarke said. "So one of them may not have a washer and dryer, whereas another one. But they don't tell you in detail which of these apartments they are." Additionally, potential tenants have to submit all their documents even before they can view the apartment in person, she says. <div type="image" title="A workspace corner." height="3536" width="3024" msid="109177663" hostid="261"></div>"So there is a chance that you may not even want the place, but you still have to submit your documents first," she said. <h2>A space of one's own</h2>Brown's home is a reflection of her personality and all the things she loves, with bright colors, eclectic furniture, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-really-love-plants-2019-4">more than 40 houseplants</a>. "Plants have a way of really transforming your space," Clarke said. "I mean not only in terms of health benefits, with oxygen and everything, but also in nurturing your plant and taking care of them." She brought most of her furniture and decor over from her old apartment and succeeded in turning her new space into the cozy, airy home she had always <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pinterest.com/itsnkenge/">envisioned</a>. <div type="image" title="A kitchen counter with plants." height="4371" width="3213" msid="109177664" hostid="261"></div>Aesthetics aside, most of her furniture pieces double as storage space, she says. "I have a lot of things, so I always try to find ways to hide them away but, at the same time, make the space look comfortable," Clarke said. "For example, I have a couple of Ottomans that have storage — you just open up the top. The ottomans themselves look very cute, and you can sit on them. They don't take up too much space." It's hard to pick a favorite spot in the home, but if she had to choose, it'd be the corner by her southeast-facing window. The pink and yellow curtains, together with her plants and a little seated area by the window, remind her of a café. <div type="image" title="A nook by a window with pink and yellow curtains, a tale and a chair." height="4799" width="4194" msid="109177665" hostid="261"></div>"I'm really inspired by cafés, especially the ones in Paris. And I know a lot of those would have the chairs facing outward, and I really liked that. So if anything, I was just bringing that into my home as well," Clarke said. "This is my little corner where I can drink some tea or read a book and just enjoy the sun coming in, because the sun does rise in this area," Clarke added. <div type="image" title="A bedroom with a desk in the far corner." height="1213" width="1014" msid="109177667" hostid="261"></div>Clarke has one suggestion for those who are interested in applying for the housing lottery. "I actually encourage people to apply to as many as they want because I would say you have a higher chance of succeeding," Clarke said. She added that she also signed up for email alerts, so she'd be notified whenever new properties get listed on the portal. Being able to have an affordable apartment in the heart of the city is like a dream come true, Clarke says. "I mean to call this space my own. I've also felt inspired. There's always so much going on in the city and it's nice to be able to have access to all of these areas while living here," she added. "I'm just very, very grateful." Correction: April 11, 2024 — An earlier version of this article misstated the name of the website that collates rental data for apartments in Chelsea. It is RentHop.com, not <keyword id="21279050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rentcafe-com" source="keywords">RentCafe.com</keyword>. Correction: April 16, 2024 — The subject's last name has been updated throughout the story to more accurately reflect the name she uses.

After 2 years of applying for the NYC housing lottery, she finally won her bid. Now she pays $1,000 in rent for her Manhattan apartment.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New York City received over 630,000 applications to join its waitlist for federal housing vouchers.</li><li>But the city will issue just 20,000 new vouchers, amid a severe housing affordability crisis.</li></ul>Finding an affordable apartment in New York City has become ever more challenging for low-income people — and an expansion of key federal assistance isn't likely to help much.When the city opened its waitlist for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-vouchers-crisis-funding-landlords-restrictions-inspections-renters-struggle-2024-5">housing choice vouchers</a> for the first time in 15 years earlier this month, it was flooded with more than 630,000 applications for the federal rental assistance program, Gothamist <a target="_blank" href="https://gothamist.com/news/1-week-633000-applications-for-section-8-in-nyc-what-comes-next">reported</a>.To be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-section-8-application-what-to-know/">eligible</a>, individuals can make no more than $54,350 a year, and families of four can't make more than $77,650. But the city is capping the waitlist at 200,000 applicants, selected randomly. Ultimately, though, it will only issue 20,000 new vouchers, bringing the total number of vouchers up from about 96,000 to about 115,000, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/2024/liz-krueger/nychas-section-8-waitlist-reopening">the New York City Housing Authority said</a>. This won't happen overnight — the vouchers will be issued at a rate of about 1,000 a month. And those on the waitlist have to reapply every two years.As a result, just over 3% of those who've applied to be on the waitlist will end up snagging one of those 20,000 additional vouchers — about the same as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/harvard-university-2155/applying#:~:text=Harvard%20University%20has%20an%20acceptance,quarter%20scored%20below%20these%20ranges.">percentage who get accepted</a> to Harvard University.New York City has the largest housing voucher program in the country, but it still falls far short of need. Rents and home prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and increasing numbers of New Yorkers can no longer afford housing. More than half of New York City tenants <a target="_blank" href="https://furmancenter.org/stateofthecity/view/state-of-renters-and-their-homes">are rent-burdened</a>, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, and a third of New Yorkers spend more than half of their income on rent.Of course, this isn't just a New York problem. Communities all across the country are facing severe housing affordability crises and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-vouchers-crisis-funding-landlords-restrictions-inspections-renters-struggle-2024-5">don't have sufficient vouchers</a>. Half of renters across the US <a target="_blank" href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_Americas_Rental_Housing_2024.pdf">are rent-burdened</a>.<h2 id="477c384d-b7e4-4141-8b55-7059aa22cc2a">A flawed system</h2>Housing vouchers are the biggest and <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/making-rental-assistance-work-better-for-people-struggling-to-afford-housing">most effective housing assistance program</a> in the country. They help about 5 million people afford their rent every year.There's lots of evidence that vouchers effectively lower the risk of homelessness, reduce dangerous housing conditions like overcrowding, and even <a target="_blank" href="https://furmancenter.org/research/publication/do-housing-vouchers-improve-academic-performance-evidence-from-new-york-cit">help kids do better in school</a>. And they significantly lower recipients' rent burden. Voucher holders pay about 30% of their income toward rent, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development covers the rest — up to what it determines to be <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/landlord/fmr">fair market rent</a>.But Congress severely underfunds the program. Just about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/policy-basics-project-based-vouchers#:~:text=Only%201%20in%204%20families,of%20families%20eligible%20for%20vouchers.&amp;text=Agencies%20can%20maintain%20separate%20waitlists,single%20waitlist%20for%20all%20vouchers.">one in four</a> Americans who are eligible for a federal housing voucher gets one, and about 10 million additional low-income households across the US are going without the help they qualify for.And once someone gets a voucher, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homeless-new-york-city-housing-voucher-holders-need-help-2024-6">it can be difficult to use</a>. With rents soaring across the country, it can be hard to find a home that fits the government's definition of fair market rent. And voucher recipients have a limited amount of time — usually just a few months — to find a home before they lose their voucher.Discrimination against housing voucher holders by landlords <a target="_blank" href="https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-landlords-are-discriminating-against-tenants-with-housing-vouchers-new-report-says">is pervasive</a>, even in places that prohibit it. Some of the resistance to vouchers from landlords has to do with the system's burdensome administrative processes that can make accepting a voucher costly and inefficient. For example, homes must be inspected by the local housing authority to make sure they meet a slew of health and safety standards. But that process can create lengthy delays, cause landlords to keep a unit empty and miss out on rent payments, and ultimately result in the voucher holder losing out on the home.Fully funding housing vouchers is key. But the root of the problem in New York and elsewhere is a lack of housing supply. Until New York has many more homes, its vouchers won't be able to keep up.Are you a New York City housing voucher recipient or a landlord who's struggled with the housing voucher program? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:erelman@businessinsider.com">erelman@businessinsider.com</a>.

New York City briefly opened its housing voucher waitlist. But getting that assistance is as unlikely as getting into Harvard.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Goldman Sachs says China's urban pets could outnumber the country's toddlers by 2030.</li><li>The investment bank says this could lead to a $12 billion market for pet food.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-birthrate-hospitals-give-up-delivering-babies-obstetrics-2024-3">China's baby bust</a> could see its urban pet population outnumbering the number of toddlers by 2030, investment bank Goldman Sachs wrote in a July 28 report."We expect to see stronger momentum in pet ownership amid a relatively weaker birth rate outlook and higher incremental household pet penetration from the younger generation," Goldman Sachs said in its report.According to Goldman Sachs' forecasts, China will have more than 70 million urban pets by 2030.That is nearly double the 40 million children under the age of four that China is expected to have in the same year, the report said while citing data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics.The rise in pet ownership, the bank said, could help push China's pet food market to $12 billion by 2030.People having more pets than babies shouldn't be surprising considering how China is presently grappling with a demographic crisis.In 2022, the world's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-overtake-china-worlds-most-populous-nation-2023-un-2022-7#:~:text=However%2C%20UN%20figures%20show%20that,billion%20over%20the%20same%20period.">second-most populous</a> country revealed that its population <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-shrinking-first-time-60-years-2023-1?_gl=1*cl9zjp*_ga*MTcxMTUxODY3LjE3MDA1Mjc5MjA.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwMjI4MDM5MS4yOS4xLjE3MDIyODA2NDQuNjAuMC4w">shrunk for the first time</a> since the early 1960s.China's population shrank again in 2023, with the number of deaths exceeding the number of births by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202401/t20240117_1946605.html">2.08 million people</a>.The drop in births has even resulted in some Chinese hospitals deciding to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-birthrate-hospitals-give-up-delivering-babies-obstetrics-2024-3">shut down their obstetrics departments</a> altogether.According to the most recently available official data, the number of maternity hospitals in China went from <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xwzb/webcontroller.do?messagelist=1&amp;titleSeq=11164">807 in 2020</a> to <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/s3574/202205/71ecabbcfa8f46ec920f1b7545cf02f0.shtml">793 in 2021</a>."I am not very surprised to hear about Goldman Sachs' forecast," said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://cola.unh.edu/person/lin-zhang">Lin Zhang</a>, a University of New Hampshire professor who studies entrepreneurship and the digital economy in China. "We could observe similar trends in early developed countries in Europe and East Asia."Pets, she said, also play an important cultural role as companions to unmarried and childless youths, and seniors whose children don't live with them."In general, I think China's going through a cultural transformation related to its rising living standards that people start to find cultural meaning in pets instead of treating them more as functional animals like in traditional agricultural society," Zhang added.<h2 id="774ba749-2bdd-4b5c-a85c-48466bdff58f">Cash gifts and subsidies haven't stopped China's baby bust</h2>The ticking demographic time bomb has become a top concern for Chinese policymakers, who have pulled out all stops to arrest the decline in births.Besides <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-end-of-chinas-one-child-policy/">axing its controversial one-child policy</a>, China has sought to encourage childbearing by dangling <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-reward-cash-bride-25-years-marriage-babies-population-2023-8">cash gifts to newly married couples</a> as well as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-population-demographics-birthrate-fertility-subsidies-incentives-ivf-betrothal-gift-2023-10">subsidies for fertility treatments and childcare</a>.But the incentives don't seem to have changed the minds of Chinese women, who told Business Insider in February that they were turned off by the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-china-not-having-kids-tell-us-why-2024-2">hefty financial costs</a> of starting a family."Let's face it, having a child is like owning an investment with no guaranteed return for at least 18 years," said Chinese venture capital analyst Bihan Chen, 26, told BI.Content creator Emily Huang, 29, told BI that the biggest thing on her mind right now is how she's going to fund her own retirement. Having children, she said, would make that goal even more distant."I wouldn't choose to spend a part of my income on children because it's expensive," Huang said. "I feel like with my current level of income, I can't retire comfortably anytime soon."<h2 id="01936a53-633d-4353-9779-f67125c45bb0">The boom in pet spending is not just a China-only phenomenon</h2>To be sure, China is not the only country that is expected to see a boost in pet-related expenditure.In the US, more households have pets than children. According to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook/a-stunning-stat-there-are-more-american-households-with-pets-than-children">2023 report</a> by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 40% of American households had children in 2022, down from 48% in 2002.In contrast, pet ownership has increased, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. The NAR report states that 70% of American households owned a pet in 2022, up from 56% in 1988.In March 2023, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/company/press/global-pet-industry-to-grow-to-500-billion-by-2030-bloomberg-intelligence-finds/">Bloomberg Intelligence</a> published its Pet Economy Report, which forecasts that the global pet industry is expected to increase in size from $320 billion to $500 billion by 2030 as the worldwide pet population continues to grow.According to the report's authors, the surge in spending isn't solely due to an increase in pets per se but also because pets are living longer."Increased pet nutrition is leading to longer pet lives around the world," Ann-Hunter van Kirk, a senior biopharmaceutical analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in a statement about the report."With this comes an increased need for spending relating to expensive healthcare for aging pets, and we project that this spending on lasting health for pets will continue to swell over the next decade," she continued.

China's city dwellers will soon have more pets than toddlers, and there's 1 way investors can cash in on the trend, Goldman Sachs says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The owner of luxury San Francisco retailer Gump's warned that this holiday season "may be our last."</li><li>John Chachas attributed this to rising crime, homelessness, drug use, and remote work.</li></ul>The owner of an upmarket San Francisco retailer that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://gumps.com/pages/about-us">first opened in 1861</a> has warned that rising crime and homelessness in the city means this could be its last year operating.John Chachas, the owner and chairman of Gump's, which sells luxury home decor and fine jewelry, among other things, said that as the company prepares for the holiday season, "we fear this may be our last because of the profound erosion of this city's current conditions." Gump's is located just off Union Square in downtown San Francisco.Chachas made his remarks in an open letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in which he criticized their leadership, published as a paid-for ad in Sunday's edition of The San Francisco Chronicle."The ramifications of COVID policies advising people to abandon their offices are only beginning to be understood," Chachas wrote.The surge in remote working during the pandemic caused an exodus of workers from states like New York and California to Texas and Florida in search of lower taxes and living costs, a better climate, and the chance to escape the hustle and bustle in big cities. San Francisco's population fell by 7.5% between April 2020 and July 2022 to around 808,400, per <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanfranciscocitycalifornia/PST045222">estimates</a> from the US Census Bureau.A lot of the migration during the pandemic was from office workers who could afford the hefty fees associated with relocating – people who could potentially be Gump's customers."Equally devastating have been a litany of destructive San Francisco strategies, including allowing the homeless to occupy our sidewalks, to openly distribute and use illegal drugs, to harass the public and to defile the city's streets," Chachas continued in his open letter. "Such abject disregard for civilized conduct makes San Francisco unlivable for its residents, unsafe for our employees, and unwelcoming to visitors from around the world."<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sfgov.org/scorecards/public-safety/violent-crime-rate-and-property-crime-rate">Statistics</a> from the City and County of San Francisco suggest that, though crime rates fluctuate each year and the number of reported robberies has been falling since 2017, there have been more incidents of burglary and motor vehicle theft since the pandemic started. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sfgov.org/scorecards/public-safety/police-response-serious-incidents">Data</a> from the City and County of San Francisco also shows that since 2016, police in the city have been getting slower to respond to high-priority calls, such as live gunshots, in-progress burglaries, and multi-car pile-ups.Much of the recent criticism of San Francisco has centered around perceptions of the rise in public drug use and the number of unsheltered homeless people. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/Substance_Use_Report_SF_2021_FINAL.pdf">Statistics</a> from the City and County of San Francisco's Department of Public Health suggest that the number of overdose deaths from drugs including opioids, heroin, and cocaine has risen dramatically since 2017. Between January and July 2023, 473 people died from accidental drug overdoses in the city, according to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2023-08/2023%2008_OCME%20Overdose%20Report.pdf">preliminary data</a> from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.Some people have also said that the city is dirtier. Incidents of graffiti have risen since the start of the pandemic, with a particular surge in graffiti abatement requests in early 2023, and the city's Public Works team has been much slower to clear it up since 2020, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://sfgov.org/scorecards/livability/graffiti-service-requests">data</a> shows.A number of retailers have been closing stores in the city, including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/san-franciscos-union-square-store-closures-since-2020-2023-5">Whole Foods, Old Navy, and Amazon Go</a>, in some cases citing staff safety or plunging sales.Chachas urged Newsom, Breed, and the Board of Supervisors to take "immediate actions," including cleaning the streets, removing homeless encampments, enforcing ordinances, "and returning San Francisco to its rightful place as one of America's shining beacons of urban society."Newsom, Breed, and the Board of Supervisors did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours.Gump's previously closed in December 2018 after <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Gump-s-a-157-year-old-SF-retailer-files-for-13132369.php">filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a>, but it reopened the following year after being purchased by Chachas.

A luxury department store in San Francisco threatens to shut up shop after 162 years, describing the city as 'unlivable' for its residents and 'unsafe' for its staff

<ul class="summary-list"><li>There may be "hundreds" of people infected with polio, New York health officials warned.</li><li>It comes after the virus was detected in wastewater in two counties near New York City.</li></ul>New York health officials said there may be "hundreds" of people infected with polio after the virus was detected in wastewater. Officials are warning anyone who hasn't been vaccinated against the virus to do so as soon as possible, according to a Department of Health <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2022/2022-08-04_polio_detected_nys.htm">statement on Thursday.</a>"Based on earlier polio outbreaks, New Yorkers should know that for every one case of paralytic polio observed, there may be hundreds of other people infected," said State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.The virus was first detected in wastewater samples in June in Rockland County, near New York City, and has since been detected in neighboring Orange County, the statement said. "Coupled with the latest wastewater findings, the Department is treating the single case of polio as just the tip of the iceberg of much greater potential spread," Bassett said. "As we learn more, what we do know is clear: the danger of polio is present in New York today."Seven positive samples were detected, all "genetically linked" to an <a href="https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Rockland-County-reports-first-new-case-of-polio-17323725.php">unvaccinated individual</a> in Rockland County who developed paralytic polio in <a href="https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2022/2022-07-21_polio_rockland_county.htm">mid-July</a>. That individual was not "the source of the transmission" and the "case investigation into the origin of the virus is ongoing," officials said in the statement."This unprecedented circulation of polio in our community from a devastating disease that was eradicated from the United States in 1979 must be stopped," said Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Rockland County Health Commissioner. "Any unvaccinated children and adults should receive a first polio immunization immediately."

Hundreds may have contracted polio after the virus was detected in wastewater, New York Health Department warns

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="72226" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="New-York-City">New York City</keyword> <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health">health</keyword> officials postponed its free condom distribution program and closed seven sexual health clinics due to the coronavirus pandemic.</li><li>But officials said it's still important for New Yorkers to practice safe <keyword id="6355231" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sex">sex</keyword>, so they created a free condom and lube delivery service.</li><li>Residents of the five boroughs can order <keyword id="27993" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="condoms">condoms</keyword> and lube online and have them mailed to their doorsteps.</li></ul>The coronavirus pandemic has made it harder for New Yorkers to get free condoms for safe sex, and health officials are not OK with the lack of access.Before the pandemic, New Yorkers could get free condoms and lube from the more than 3,500 non-profit organizations where the health department distributes these products in New York City. Residents could also go to <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/sexual-health-clinics.page">nine sexual health clinics</a> in the city for STI tests and treatment and birth control.To protect people's health and limit coronavirus transmission in recent months, the health department postponed the condom program and <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/sexual-health-clinics.page">closed seven of its clinics</a>. To bridge the gap, officials <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2020/sexual-health-services-resources-covid-19.page">announced a new home-delivery service</a> on June 9."We are committed to protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers, and that includes their sexual health," Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in a <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2020/sexual-health-services-resources-covid-19.page">release</a>. "As we adapt to living in the time of COVID-19, we must find alternative solutions to maintaining public health support for all New Yorkers."<div type="image" title="sex health sexual genitals female male anatomy peach crotch orgasm pleasure same sex reproduction penis testicles anal vagina vibrator toy sperm uterus ovaries condom safe sex cox 126 131.jpg" height="1667" width="2223" msid="76292059" hostid="261"></div>The service, called <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/condoms">Door 2 Door</a>, will let New Yorkers order condoms, lube, and HIV tests online for free. They can choose from all kinds of condoms, including ones with New York-themed packaging, ribbed condoms, extra strong condoms, and hyperthin condoms. Individual packets of lube are also available for order.According to the health department, every product ordered comes with 30 condoms or 30 packets of lube, and is mailed in "discreetly packaged envelopes."There are some rules that go along with the service. Every customer can only place an order every 30 days, and every order is limited to two product choices.The health department also has a <a href="https://a816-healthpsi.nyc.gov/NYCHealthMap/home/ByServices?services=15">map on its website</a> that people can use to locate nearby brick-and-mortar locations that sell condoms and lube.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/people-with-psychopathic-traits-more-likely-ignore-social-distancing-2020-6">People who ignore social distancing rules may have psychopathic personality traits, study finds</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-get-out-of-relationship-sex-rut-isolation-2020-6">How to get out of a relationship rut when you're quarantined with your partner</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/sex-worker-alice-little-vanilla-people-onlyfans-advice-2020-6">A sex worker said 'vanilla-type people' should reconsider joining OnlyFans: 'Once your naked body is on the Internet, good luck getting it off'</a></li></ul>

New York City's health department is delivering lube and condoms to people's doorsteps

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fifteen <keyword id="12119838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="rikers-island" source="Orion">Rikers Island</keyword> inmates died in 2021 — the highest number since 2016.</li><li>Each of the inmates was men of color whose causes of death varied between COVID-19, suicide, and overdoses.</li></ul>Fifteen men of color died while in custody at, or just after release from, the infamous Rikers Island jail in 2021 — making it the jail's most deadly year since 2016, <a href="https://thegrio.com/2021/12/28/15-rikers-island-prisoners-died-in-2021-all-were-black-and-brown/">according to The Grio</a>. Their causes of death varied between suicide, drug overdoses, and COVID-19, according to <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/rikers-inmates-died-2021.html">New York Magazine's Intelligencer</a>, which published obituaries for all 15 men. One man, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/nyregion/rikers-death-toll.html">Anthony Scott</a>, died before he was sent to the facility and was not included in the obituary. Two inmates died within four days of each other in December — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/10/nyregion/rikers-jail-death-15th-person.html?action=click&amp;pgtype=Article&amp;state=default&amp;module=styln-rikers-island&amp;variant=show&amp;region=MAIN_CONTENT_1&amp;block=storyline_top_links_recirc">Malcolm Boatwright</a> was 28 years old and died from cardiac arrest, while <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/nyregion/rikers-island-deaths.html">William Brown</a> was 55 years old and his cause of death is still under investigation.Ninety percent of the inmates at Rikers are Black or brown, according to The Grio, and the majority of prisoners are awaiting trial — including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/19/nyregion/rikers-island-chaos-suicides.html">Wilson Diaz-Guzman</a> who died by suicide in January just five days after he arrived — <a href="https://greaterjusticeny.vera.org/nycjail/">according to NYC Open Data.</a>Jared Trujillo, policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, told Insider in an email that "too many New Yorkers have died or suffered enormous and irreversible physical and psychological harm as a result of conditions at Rikers."Trujillo added that "Rikers has been plagued by an abhorrent culture of neglect and violence despite increases to the Department of Corrections' budget."Calls to close Rikers Island, which consists of eight operating jails, have <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/deaths-at-rikers-island-renew-calls-to-shut-it-down/3312237/">increased</a> during the pandemic, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-health-prisons-new-york-new-york-city-da3d6f8334946cf2cc3eb2bac60538a2">according to The Associated Press</a>, which cites concerns over deaths, violence, lack of medical and mental health care, and unsanitary conditions.The city of New York plans to close down Rikers Island and replace it with other smaller jails by 2027, according to the city's "<a href="https://rikers.cityofnewyork.us/">Roadmap to Closing Rikers</a>."But, in the meantime, <keyword id="11921345" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="new-york-city" source="Orion">New York City</keyword> Mayor Eric Adams, a retired New York Police Department chief, who assumed office in January, said he'd reopen solitary confinement at Rikers Island for violent prisoners, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/eric-adams-says-hell-restore-solitary-confinement-on-rikers-island-2021-12">Insider previously reported</a>.The New York Department of Corrections, Mayor Eric Adams' office, and the City of New York did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

15 Rikers Island inmates — all men of color — died in 2021, the largest number of deaths since 2016

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Orkin released their 2023 list of rattiest cities in America.</li><li>Some familiar cities, like New York, made the list.</li></ul>They're small, dirty, and living in your town — rats are nearly ubiquitous across the United States. Some cities have it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-rat-extermination-weapon-rodent-population-takeover-climate-change-2023-11">worse than others</a>.Each year the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/termites-find-a-vacation-home-in-south-beach-miami-moves-into-the-1-spot-on-orkin-s-top-termite-cities-list-1032161730">pest control company Orkin ranks</a> America's rattiest cities based on the number of new rat treatments, including residential and public, it performed there over the year. Its poll doesn't include efforts from local government or other pest companies. For the ninth year in a row, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coolest-new-businesses-in-chicago-2015-2">the windy city</a> is crowned champion of these cheesy little fellows. Orkin was so excited by this back-to-back winner that they released <a href="https://app.brilliantmade.com/receive/orkin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">limited edition T-shirts</a> emblazoned with the title "Top Rattiest City Chicago 2023".Here are the top 10 rattiest cities this year, according to Orkin:<ol><li>Chicago</li><li>Los Angeles</li><li>New York City</li><li>Washington D.C.</li><li>San Francisco</li><li>Philadelphia</li><li>Baltimore</li><li>Denver</li><li>Detroit</li><li>Cleveland </li></ol>From poisoned food to fumigation, rat abatement methods, otherwise known as extermination, vary wildly both in approach and success.<h2>What's working for the rattiest cities</h2><div type="image" title="rats" height="1666" width="2222" msid="105298926" hostid="261" sizebytes="218262"></div>One method, which uses a machine to inject carbon monoxide into outdoor rat burrows, has gained popularity after being touted by New York officials as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-new-rat-killing-method-highly-successful-expanding-new-areas-2023-10">nearly 100% lethal</a>.Washington DC also uses this method, though they reserve it for serious infestations since the machine is difficult to lug around, Gerard Brown, program manager for rodent vector control at DC Health, told Business Insider.Detroit is one of the many cities that uses more familiar methods, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-customer-hospital-claims-rat-poison-2023-1">rat poison</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/home/best-roach-killer">bait boxes</a>. In recent years, the city has seen success with its traditional approach, Georgette Johnson, a press secretary for the city's Department of Public Works, told BI in an email.To date, Detroit has had 1,851 rat complaints this year, compared to 2,577 in 2022 and 2,894 in 2021, she said. "We may soon be moving farther down the 'rattiest' city list," Johnson said.<div type="image" title="A storefront of a closed building with paper all over the windows and signs warning of rat poision." height="1622" width="3244" msid="105298927" hostid="261" sizebytes="277014"></div>Other cities, like Denver, opt for a more defensive strategy. When a rat complaint is lodged in the city, the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment sends someone to the location to seal rat burrows and figure out how to cut off <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-rat-problem-caused-by-people-research-food-waste-2023-8">food and water supply,</a> Amber Campbell, a public information officer at DDPHE, told BI in an email. Most local governments have similar services that dispatch exterminators to homes and businesses to examine rodent complaints. What they do when they get there varies, but having face-to-face contact with citizens is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-rat-czar-kathleen-corradi-rats-are-not-enemy-2023-4">helpful to educate them</a> on how to manage their waste.The best, and only way, the rat problem will be solved, is if people care enough to change their behavior, Brown, with the DC vector control, said. Though he's unsure how Orkin gets their numbers, he said each year, its list reinvigorates public interest in rodents, which provides the city a good opportunity to get people to listen.<h2>What's not working for cities<div type="image" title="rats new york" height="1348" width="1797" msid="105298928" hostid="261" sizebytes="308494"></div></h2>The biggest battle that cities face in the rat war is one that we all have to participate in — <a href="https://www.insider.com/new-york-city-explosive-increase-rats-over-last-65-years-2023-3?_gl=1*14ng7bv*_ga*MTY2MTYzODg5NS4xNjg4MDY4MjQy*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwMDE2NzkzMC4yNTUuMS4xNzAwMTcwNDUzLjYwLjAuMA..">managing trash</a>. Most pest experts emphasize that if trash, food, and water were properly managed, there <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-if-all-rats-in-nyc-died-2023-11#:~:text=With%20abundant%20garbage%20available%20to,rats%2C%20Munshi%2DSouth%20said.">wouldn't be a rodent problem</a>.This can be especially difficult in cities on the waterfront, like Cleveland, San Francisco, or New York, because there's a constant source of hydration for the pests. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-california-overwhelme-food-rots-and-animals-dies-in-cuts-chaos-2020-8">In Los Angeles</a>, Baltimore, and DC, officials have said that the pandemic led to an increase in trash at home from people working from home, which has led to more critters invading personal space. <div type="image" title="People make their way past trash bags in New York City." height="1665" width="2221" msid="105298929" hostid="261" sizebytes="356992"></div>There are other, more acute factors that may make one year <a href="https://www.insider.com/nyc-tourists-rat-tours-see-citys-mascots-2023-8">more ratty than the next</a>.For one, construction was blamed for recent rat problems in both Cleveland and Philadelphia. Construction can <a href="https://fox8.com/news/its-disgusting-rat-population-growing-in-downtown-cleveland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uproot the critters</a> from their underground burrows and send them skittering across streets and sidewalks.Other, more bureaucratic issues might make it more difficult to manage rats, like not having <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carbon-monoxide-nyc-rat-exterminator-clap-cheer-free-beer-2023-10">enough employees</a> to address rat complaints.For example, an investigation by the <a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/08/31/why-chicago-is-losing-the-war-on-rats/">nonprofit newsroom Block Club Chicago</a> in collaboration with Illinois Answers Project and WGN Investigates, reported that the city's departments were stretched too thin to deal with the more than 50,000 rat complaints they got per year. "We're outnumbered at this point. We're way outnumbered," Janelle Iaccino, marketing director for Rose Pest Control in Chicago, told Block Club.

You Searched For "city health department" and got 10 results

From malls to metros, Delhi govt running vaccination camps in high-footfall areas to widen coverage

PTI

Delivering food on an e-bike or moped is a deadly endeavor in New York City

Eliza Relman,Madison Hoff

After 2 years of applying for the NYC housing lottery, she finally won her bid. Now she pays $1,000 in rent for her Manhattan apartment.

Amanda Goh

New York City briefly opened its housing voucher waitlist. But getting that assistance is as unlikely as getting into Harvard.

Eliza Relman

China's city dwellers will soon have more pets than toddlers, and there's 1 way investors can cash in on the trend, Goldman Sachs says

Kwan Wei Kevin Tan,Aditi Bhar…

A luxury department store in San Francisco threatens to shut up shop after 162 years, describing the city as 'unlivable' for its residents and 'unsafe' for its staff

Grace Dean

Hundreds may have contracted polio after the virus was detected in wastewater, New York Health Department warns

Katie Balevic

New York City's health department is delivering lube and condoms to people's doorsteps

Julia Naftulin

15 Rikers Island inmates — all men of color — died in 2021, the largest number of deaths since 2016

Taiyler Simone Mitchell

10 rattiest cities in America in 2023, according to pest control experts

Maiya Focht

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