`Rats the Size of Cats’ Roam Part of South Bethlehem, Council Member Daniels Says, Perhaps Overstating the Size

Sept. 1, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Trash sometimes sits on South Bethlehem streets, Bethlehem City Council member Jo Daniels said Tuesday, leading to scary sights.

“There’s an area on the south side where in the middle of the night you will literally see rats the size of cats because of the trash,” Daniels said at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

South Siders’ night vision may be a bit off. That or the cats are small. The most common U.S. rat is the Norway Rat, which Wikipedia says has a body length of about 11 inches, plus tail. I used to work in New York City and I never saw huge rats, just lots of regular ones. I’ve never seen them that big in Bethlehem either.

Laura Collins, director of the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, said the city receives many complaints about trash and most are resolved quickly. Hundreds of complaints are filed annually.

Editor’s note: I once made a complaint about trash piling up and the city took care of it that day. Not every case is so easy. I took a walk through the South Side early this summer and saw trash outside homes that Lehigh University students rent. They probably dumped everything before heading home.

“There are problem properties,” Collins said. She said the city’s authority to deal with trash on private property is limited. In some cases, lots of trash may be out on the night before scheduled pickup.

Daniels said she understands that the city gets many complaints and most are resolved.

The problem here stems from some homeowners and renters, not the city.

Council member Hillary Kwiatek said the city should provide regular reports on a recent Consent Order and Agreement (COA) with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The city was fined $26,941 for past discharges of waste from its wastewater treatment plant.

Kwiatek said she felt “blindsided” upon hearing of the consent order and wants regular reports to Council. The city had been in talks with the state DEP for about two years before disclosing the COA.

City Council approved her resolution, noting that the information is already being compiled. The resolution makes clear that Council is not trying to run the sewer plant.

Also Tuesday, Council member Bryan Callahan asked Mayor J. William Reynolds about when the city will present a study of firefighting staffing. The mayor said the study is on its way.