breakers lacerated
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Last Saturday, after conducting a walking tour of Dutch Kills for a group of enthusiasts, your humble narrator found himself walking up 35th street, and upon arriving at the street’s intersections with both 38th avenue and Northern Blvd.- I was moving past the titan Packard building.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Engaged in conversation with Our Lady of the Pentacle, who helped out with the tour, I suddenly felt as if someone might be throwing crumpled up bits of paper at my back. Spinning around to confront my attacker, this swarm of bees was observed.
It had been bees bouncing off my back!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the things I’ve learned about Queens is this- if something “should be done or said”, no one is going to do it, so you’d better do it yourself. Our Lady of the Pentacle sighed at this point and walked up the block to find a shady spot to sit down while I crossed the street and yelled “BEEs” at anyone who approached this spot.
After many years of marriage to one such as myself, she knew that the following would take a while and she might as well get comfortable.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I called 911, and told the operator that there were a lot of bees swarming on the same corner as a subway stop, and was told that that’s not an emergency and that I should call 311. With a hearty “yes ma’am” I hung up and called 311.
The operator listened to my description of the situation, and asked me if I had contacted the property owner about the situation.
Attempting to explain that I was attempting to report a dangerous situation here on the streets of Queens, she interrupted me and chided that “I wasn’t letting her talk”. There no way, of course, that this situation would have been dealt with differently if I was calling about such a situation in say… Manhattan.
She continued that “bees are part of nature and that the City of New York doesn’t mess with nature”.
The Newtown Pentacle 
Not meaning to wax poetic here but in short, have you ever heard about insect politics? Neither has the 311 operator said “buzz off” when duly informed about this sticky situation. A stinging rebuke from officialdom all because our humble narrator had a bee in his bonnet over this act of nature! Ah, then, off to the honeycomb hideout to watch ‘The Fly’ as I’ve run out of bad puns.
Cav
May 17, 2012 at 3:51 am
Mitch Waxman. Calling 911 then 311. A real Romper Room Do-Bee! Thanks, Mitch..
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Go this way and that way
And this way and that way.
Did your ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Turn this way and that way
Turn this way and that way.
Did your ever see a Do Bee
Turn this way and that?
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Bow this way and that way
Bow this way and that way.
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Bow this way and that?
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Raise this hand and that hand.
Raise this hand and that hand.
Did you ever see Do Bee
Raise this hand and that?
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Wave this hand and that hand
Wave this hand and that hand.
Did your ever see a Do Bee
Wave this hand and that?
Did you ever see a Do Bee,
A Do Bee, a Do Bee?
Did you ever see a Do Bee
Go this way and that?
Clap this way and that way
Clap this way and that way.
Did your ever see a Do bee
Clap this way and tha-a-a-a-t?
For more:
http://www.tvacres.com/insects_bees_dobee.htm
georgetheatheist
May 17, 2012 at 10:04 am
So you were a busy little bee today!
Laura Risi Hofmann
May 18, 2012 at 12:11 am
[…] Bees still busy in Astoria [Newtown Pentacle] […]
Morning Linkage: bees, trees, arty arty subway | Queens NYC
May 18, 2012 at 11:18 am
Mitch, this post stirred up a real hornets nest but you could have rectified this ‘Invasion of the Bee Girls’ situation and maybe put it to some good use:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_bearding
This would impress everyone at the next Newtown Creek tour with our humble narrator/professor bee leading the way:
Cav
May 18, 2012 at 3:29 pm