[stephentmcm]

I'd hazard I guess that it's merely a few people aggressively reporting sightings near their home and that the vast majority of the rat population goes un-reported and is fairly evenly distributed. Unless I'm mistaken and it's only department employees reporting them, which would still have a bias, based on worker personality.

[rflrob]

I just asked my Manhattan born and raised girlfriend if she ever reported a rat, and her response was, "No. Why would I do that?"

[foz]

Absolutely not true. The NYC Health Department handles calls directly from residents, and long-time city residents know that they need to call if they want the city to do anything to help.

[ponyous]

Just read the comment above yours.