Business Owners Say 'Foot-Long' Rats Are 'Always Around' TriBeCa

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- TriBeCa, which is home to some of the city's most exclusive restaurants, is also home to one of the city's worst rat infestations.

Business owners near Greenwich and Beach streets are concerned about the rat problem.

"I see them many times," one business owner said. "Every day."

"It's pretty bad, they're always around," another business owner said.

"They're not little critters, they look like linebackers for crying out loud, they're big, they're like a good foot," Sal Patrissi, general manager of Wolfgang's Steakhouse, said. "We are very diligent on keeping the doors closed because they go through our potted plants."

Patrissi said the restaurant has an A rating and doesn't want customers to think the rats are its problem.

He said the trouble began when a building on Greenwich Street came down and remained an empty lot, where the rats scurry around and spread out.

"There's customers thinking that it's coming from our restaurant and it's not, they're coming from there," Patrissi said.

The lot owner has reportedly treated the problem and traps the size of shoe boxes have been laid out on the sidewalk.

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