Curtis Sliwa offers New York City Mayor Eric Adams a job to fix the rat problem in his Brooklyn home

Curtis Sliwa has offered to become New York’s “Rat Czar” and help Mayor Eric Adams get rid of the rodent infestation at his Brooklyn home.

Republican nominee Sliwa, 68, lost to Democratic nominee Adams in the 2021 mayoral election in New York City.

Mr Sliwa staged a publicity stunt outside Mr Adam’s home on Lafayette Avenue on Wednesday, saying he could defeat the rat problem with an army of feral cats, the New York Times reported.

Adams, 62, was fined $1,200 for failing to control the rats at his four-unit apartment building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

Curtis Sliwa has offered to become New York’s “Rat Czar” and help Mayor Eric Adams get rid of the rodent infestation at his Brooklyn home

Mr Sliwa staged a publicity stunt outside Mr Adam’s home on Lafayette Avenue on Wednesday, saying he could defeat the rat problem with an army of feral cats

Republican nominee Sliwa, 68, lost to Democratic nominee Adams in the 2021 mayoral election in New York City. Eric Adams is pictured on December 5, 2022

Mr Sliwa took two cats in a cage outside the apartment in a publicity stunt against his opponent, where he also pointed to a massive dead rat.

The activist said: “He tried everything. But it’s time we resorted to the best measure that ever worked. And these are cats.”

“You can’t solve the problem in town if you can’t even solve a rat problem in front of your own house.”

Sliwa said the cats could be like an army of “Batmans and Robins” patrolling the streets.

He added that feral cat colonies already resident in the city could also help and that they could follow the example of Istanbul, where 100,000 feral cats are being treated as part of the community.

Mr Adams replied that Sliwa could become the city’s new ‘Rat Czar’ or be hired as an intern.

He added at a press conference: “Don’t release it if you’re not ready to fulfill it”.

He said he would hire him as Sliwa “is probably looking for a job” after winning the 2021 election in which the current mayor received 67 percent of the vote.

Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels civil patrol and owns 16 rescue cats with his wife Nancy, including Tiny and Thor who were present at the press conference.

The mayor previously announced plans to hire a rodent control director to help solve the city’s rat problem.

Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels civil patrol and owns 16 rescue cats with his wife Nancy, including Tiny and Thor who were present at the press conference

Mr Sliwa took two cats in a cage outside the apartment in a publicity stunt against his opponent, where he also pointed to a massive dead rat

A city council member told CBS News that rats in the city are up 71 percent since 2020. Pictured: Rat Road Kill on Lafayette Avenue

New York City Mayor Eric Adams may be struggling with rising crime and a homelessness problem, but he’s willing to pay big bucks for someone who can get rid of the city’s rats

The mayor previously announced plans to hire a rodent control director to help solve the city’s rat problem (pictured November 29).

The job, which earns between $120,000 and $170,000, is open to anyone with a background in urban planning, project management or government work.

It also suggests you have a “swashbuckling attitude, sly humor, and an overall aura of badassery.” Knowledge of PowerPoint is also required.

A city council member told CBS News that rat sightings in the city have increased 71 percent since 2020.

Meanwhile, a 2014 study by Jonathan Auerbach estimated that two million rats live in the city.

On December 7, the Department of Health issued Adams two new subpoenas for failing to check the rats, bringing the total to three.

Adams claims to have spent nearly $7,000 on measures to get rid of rats, which meant the first subpoena was dropped.

Meanwhile, the mayor is also struggling with economic problems and record levels of homelessness in the city.

Since his election, he has taken a “tough approach to crime” and implemented a zero-tolerance policy toward homeless people sleeping in subway cars.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Adams said: “We have a rat problem in the city. I mean, who are we joking with?’

The mayor has previously said that he is afraid of rats.

According to Sliwa, he tried to use sticky traps and drown the rats in alcohol.