MANHATTAN — Community members at the Community Board 2 Parks & Waterfront meeting pressed parks staff on rodent complaints, a lingering mound of mulch at a small playground and support for volunteer green‑streets gardening; Parks and the Washington Square Park Conservancy outlined mitigation steps and volunteer programs.

A new resident, Mark Sherman, asked about a perceived increase in rats. Will Morrison said Parks uses a nonchemical approach called Burrow RX that treats burrow systems by emitting carbon monoxide smoke into burrows while crews plug holes to limit survival; he said the agency avoids pesticides to protect wildlife. Morrison recommended residents report burrows and other maintenance issues through the city’s 311 service so regional teams can respond.

A resident named Jeffrey reported a large delivered pile of mulch or compost left at Presuvio Playground for a month and asked if it posed a rodent risk. Morrison said he would contact the regional manager, Therese Flores, and follow up with the resident. Borough Commissioner Tricia Shimamura also acknowledged the concern and said Parks would investigate.

Volunteer gardeners asked for support for green‑street plots and were told Parks Partnerships runs biannual plant giveaways and that the borough office can help connect volunteers to Department of Transportation contacts for DOT‑owned plots. Washington Square Park Conservancy said it will relaunch its volunteer gardening program in early 2026 and noted a bench/tree dedication program and licensing changes that create new fundraising streams for park maintenance.

The meeting also included brief announcements about holiday programming: the tree lighting at the Arch Plaza on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m., menorah events and caroling on Christmas Eve, and a conservancy‑backed lifeguard recruitment push that has cleared about '60‑ish' lifeguards for next season. Parks said it will follow up on the mulch removal and other maintenance requests.