“Rats Mob The Upper East Side” (Also the fashion catwalk)

The Wall Street Journal debuted its New York edition today, which featured on its front page the breaking story, “Rats Mob the Upper East Side.” The WSJ reports: “An army of rats is scurrying into apartments, stores and even car engines on a stretch of the Upper East Side.”

Meanwhile, over on Vanity Fair, they may have unwittingly proposed a solution:

From Billy Reid's Fall 2010 Collection (Yes, that's rat fur they're wearing)

Here are some choice quotes from the VF piece:

“I love the masculinity of it. It’s sort of the bad-ass fur,” [Designer Billy] Reid explains.

Locals have explored other uses for nutria [rat] pelts, including pillows and teddy bears.

“It makes a great blanket,” says Edmond Mouton, biologist and program manager at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. His department’s Web site includes a recipe for “stuffed nutria hindquarters” that serves 15.

I don’t know what PETA will have to say about this. But I can’t imagine the rich fashionistas of the Upper East Side caring. Because if there’s one organization that’s persona non grata on the Upper East Side — where there’s probably more fur per capita than anywhere else — it’s PETA.