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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Some Uptown Residents Want Bees and Wasps to Buzz Off

By Carla Zanoni | September 21, 2011 8:43am

UPPER MANHATTAN — Summer may be quickly slipping away, but wasps in Upper Manhattan are making the most of it while it lasts.

Over the past several weeks, Northern Manhattan residents have reported an unusual number of wasp sightings in neighborhood parks, worrying some and intriguing others. Residents said they have had a hard time reconciling their fears of wasps and bees with a desire to be closer to nature.

“Lots of children are allergic, what will happen if one gets stung?” said Inwood resident Esteban Ferrer, 37.

One large wasp nest that recently formed on a low hanging branch at the northern edge of Isham Park has been worrying residents who fear the flying creatures might attack children who play nearby.

Parks officials did not respond to requests for comment on whether the department planned to remove the nest. 

Last month one Inwood parent said she and a child were stung by a swarm of bees or possibly wasps in Isham Park while playing baseball. Parks officials taped off an area where they believed the insects were living. Although a spokesman said the department had not fumigated, the insects were gone the next day.

A gardener said he and other volunteers from the community garden, Bruce’s Garden, which is steps away from the new nest, may take down the hive once the weather cools further and the wasps are dormant.

Although not technically the same as wasps, bees in Manhattan made numerous appearances this summer, with reports of swarms in neighborhood parks, swanky restaurants and even outside Fifth Avenue’s high-end jewelry store Bulgari.

In August, wasps were spotted dragging cicadas into nesting holes in dirt in Inwood Hill Park and in the Park Terrace section of Inwood.

The so-called cicada killer wasp stings the cicada to paralyze it and then lays eggs on its prey, then its larvae and pupae grow by feeding from the bug before flying off.

One DNAinfo.com reporter was stung three times in rapid succession while walking through the soccer fields of Inwood Hill Park in August. Although one Inwood resident said she had seen a nest inside a tree near the old growth forest, DNAinfo was unable to find the wasp home. 

But deep inside Inwood Hill Park, wasps have busily made a home inside the railings of a pedestrian bridge that joins Dyckman Fields and the forest.

Although Parks officials said they are not aware of wasps in the park, several small nests appeared to have been knocked down along the bridge just days before the walkway was given a new coat of paint.

For Carol Burndt, a 43-year-old Washington Heights mom of two-year-old Camille, fear of wasps and bees near her home presents a conundrum many other uptowners have voiced. 

“Part of why we moved here was to have nature at our doorstep in Manhattan, but it’s scary when it means we could be hurt while out on a regular walk or playdate,” she said. “I’m just not sure what should be done.”

Andrew Cote, who comes from a long line of beekeepers and is one of the founders of the New York City Beekeepers Association, said that he understands residents' concerns over the bees and wasps, but urged neighbors to recognize the deep history of the flying insects in Manhattan.

"It’s their turf first and not the other way around," he said. 

"We are coexisting and have coexisted for centuries. They were here when Native Americans ran the show, when the Dutch ran the show and when the British ran the show, long before any other group thought the real estate was desirable," he said.