A rat crosses a Times Square subway platform in New York.Richard Drew/The Associated Press The brown rat has lived in New York City since the time of the Revolutionary War, or thereabouts. And for at least a century, city officials have tried, and failed, to eradicate it. And so it was that on Wednesday, centuries after the Rattus norvegicus first stowed away on a New York-bound ship, New York City tried again, advertising for a newly created position of “director of rodent mitigation.” The unusually irreverent job posting, first reported by Gothamist, seeks someone equipped with a bachelor’s degree, five...