The garbage collectors' pick up truck bounces down Woodes Rogers Walk twice a day, rolling past the used Styrofoam plates, soiled napkins and soda cans that litter the area.

Comfortable from their perch within the truck's cab, the gloved trash collectors make no effort to pick up that which hasn't already been pitched into bin, barrel or bag.

Government-hired pest control and the Department of Environmental Health Services drop by about once a month to spread rat poison around inconspicuous corners of the Straw Market and along back alleys, trying to keep the rodent population at manageable levels, but there has been no coherent strategy for cleaning up Downtown Nassau and eliminating the beady-eyed beasts. Until now.

Andrew Thompson, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Health Services, acknowledged yesterday that sanitation crews have "had their challenges with the (Straw) Market structure, itself," particularly because of "its temporary nature." In other words, rats come and go as they please from the plastic tent.

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