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Raccoons Plague Harlem as Reports of the Creatures Span the Neighborhood

By Dartunorro Clark | July 22, 2016 10:13am | Updated on July 24, 2016 1:16pm
 Harlem resident Charisse Code said she sees the raccoons every night, but heard them screech for the first time Thursday morning in her backyard.
Harlem resident Charisse Code said she sees the raccoons every night, but heard them screech for the first time Thursday morning in her backyard.
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DNAinfo/Dartunorro Clark

HARLEM — Raccoons are running amok in Harlem.

After DNAinfo New York reported that the animals were causing havoc on one neighborhood block — breaking into kitchens and even eating a pet turtle — more Harlem residents are telling of sightings and records show an 11 percent citywide uptick in raccoon-related calls.  

One street the animals call home is West 119th Street, which remains plagued by the nocturnal visitors two years after DNAinfo New York first reported that the masked critters had moved onto the block.

Charisse Code, who lives on West 119th street, said she sees them every night. But on Thursday, she heard a screech from her backyard at 8 a.m.

“I thought it was a cat,” Code said.  “I’m like, ‘No one feeds this cat?' ”

Code opened a can of tuna and took the food outside, where she spotted two raccoons rummaging through her neighbor’s garbage can.  

“That was something else,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve heard them and seen them this early in the morning.

“I want to go out in my backyard and party, but I can’t.”

Code, who has lived on the block for 41 years, said she watched the neighbor, whose yard is across from hers, push one raccoon off the garbage can with a broomstick. 

Two years ago, DNAinfo New York reported on raccoons invading Code’s block and nearby areas.

Since then the situation seems unchanged, according to interviews with several residents.

This week, DNAinfo New York reported that residents of West 121st Street have also been tormented by a gaze of raccoons over the past month.

And social media shows them turning up in other spots across Uptown.

Citywide, officials have received 1,442 inquiries about raccoon control through June, up from about 1,300 during the same period last year, records show.  

The city’s Department of Health told DNAinfo it has a clear policy to only intervene when raccoons exhibit rabid behavior or attack. Otherwise, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to hire a private company to remove them.

Raccoons are protected by law, but people are allowed to "destroy raccoons that damage property. However, property owners should try eliminating food and shelter before killing the animal," according to the DEC's website.

Some residents say they're unsure how to tackle the issue, even as others come up with their own deterrents.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said Cuban peppers are the answer. Others have used ammonia and mothballs.

“Hiring an exterminator is super expensive,” the resident said. 

“You can’t kill them so you’re stuck with them…Do we get used to raccoons as well as pigeons and feral cats?”

Laura Sauriat, a renter who lives on West 118th Street, said the raccoons have been a nuisance, but she wants the issue dealt with humanely.

“I would love it if the city would do some kind of trap-and-release," Sauriat said. "Or an awareness campaign.” 

Other residents have taken to social media to express their bewilderment that raccoons, like a rare Pokemon, appear in Harlem.

 

Repost from @elanhiart Yes there is a #raccoon in #Harlem on 127th street between st. Nicholas and 8th avenue

A photo posted by Harlem Trends (@harlemtrends) on