An NYPD officer removed the swarm from Sunnyside yesterday. (NYPD)
May 28, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
Sunnyside was buzzing yesterday as NYPD officers removed a swarm of 20,000 bees from the side of a 45th Street building.
The sizable swarm had gathered at 48-02 45 St., between 48th and 50th Avenues, and quickly became a problem for pedestrians trying to walk by the building.
NYPD beekeepers responded to the scene and used a “bee-vac”—a vacuum that safely sucks up the bees—to collect the swarm, which was then transported to a new home in the Hudson Valley.
@NYPD108Pct @NYPDChiefPatrol @NYPDChiefofDept @NYPD104Pct 20k bees safely removed from a building hindering pedestrians from walking on the sidewalk. It’s definitely swarm season in NYC. pic.twitter.com/CuWJ00KA07
— NYPD Bees (@NYPDBees) May 27, 2019
The force’s beekeepers are full duty police officers who have received specialized training and are called on when swarms appear.
According to the NYPD, it’s swarm season for the bees. The season typically lasts from mid-May to late July as temperatures rise and the bees move around looking for a place to cool off.
Sunnyside wasn’t the only neighborhood to be hit by a swarm over the holiday weekend. A group of 8,000 bees also invaded lower Manhattan yesterday near Broadway and Maiden Lane. The specialized NYPD officers responded and similarly removed the bees and transported them to the Hudson Valley.
Featured Events
16 Comments
A great cop from the 104 precinct Army vet now assigned to Bee keeper. Long time veteran Hope he gets a promotion . We need him hope they retain him and he doesn’t gallop off into retirement soon.
How do they know that it was 20,000?? Does the vacuum have a counter?
Weight
Buzz off
That joke stings.
Those bees should have been squashed. They are a threat to the community and serve no purpose. Squash em!
The NYPD should have a special unit with factory farm-sized vacuums, to suck up the swarms of goobers and bumpkins gentrifying Sunnyside, who have always dreamed of a life in New York City, and transport them back to Ohio, Minnesota, Georgia, and the like.
The dislikes are from those who tell friends and family in their home state that they live on 42nd Street, conjuring ideas of Times Square, when in fact, their street is renown for Takesushi.
*renowned
Add R.I.F. to the list BXgrl
There are probably more of them out there.
BEE careful everyone.
THE BEES
1) I’m impressed the NYPD has a Bees Twitter account.
2) Should I be concerned that beekeeping is a job for our NYPD counterterrrorism force? Do we have reliable intel that terrorists are now weaponizing bees?
Where do you see a reference to “counterterrorism” in this? I’d be concerned about seeing things that aren’t there if I were you.
It says “Counterterrorism” on the back of the officer’s shirt in the photos.
Did you not see where it spells COUNTERTERRORISM on the back of shirt of the NYPD officer removing the bees? Reading comprehension is fundamental!