Stuyvesant Town residents have been wondering about the origins of a bunny that appeared in the neighborhood over the holiday weekend.
On Sunday, the critter was seen outside Ess-a-Bagel on First Avenue. One resident, Lola Franco, told Town & Village the bunny seemed fine when she went to scoop it up so she left it be, later hearing that ST/PCV Public Safety officers had managed to capture it. However, she later went back for it, concerned that the creature could end up euthanized at a shelter. She brought it home and a few hours later, her daughter, who works at the nearby ABC Animal Hospital, took the bunny to work with her for a checkup.
The following day, another resident posted on the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association Facebook page about a gray and white bunny sighting at 20th Street and First Avenue. Franco said this was after the other bunny had been caught she didn’t think it was the same bunny seen by different people.
Several reported sightings over the past couple of weeks of dead and dying squirrels in Stuyvesant Town have had residents wondering what’s going on — since they clearly weren’t devoured by hawks.
One resident, Noam Freedman, said he saw a dying one near Playground 7, with his wife spotting another one behind 7 Oval. The one he saw was lying on the ground, its legs twitching.
On November 15, Freedman noted the incidents on the Tenants Association’s Facebook page. This was followed by a few more residents commenting that they’d seen dead squirrels in different areas in the complex recently.
On Friday morning, a resident of Stuyvesant Town who was out bird watching saw a form of wildlife she’d never encountered before — a skunk – by the Oval.
The resident, Anne Lazarus, said at first she thought she was looking at a large cat — possibly around two feet long including its tail – but then realized what it was as it lumbered along the walkway. Therefore, she knew not to get too close.
Upon noticing Lazarus, she said, “It raised its tail and I backed off quickly.” She then contacted a public safety and an officer who’s previously rescued animals, Patrolman Morales, responded. Armed with a bag at the end of a pole he managed to get the black and white critter inside a large container. Unfortunately, this wasn’t without getting sprayed first.
Lazarus had left the scene by that point but later heard from Morales that he’d brought the skunk to an appropriate area in upstate Kingston and released it there.
Just when you thought it was safe to unwrap your Snickers bar in Stuyvesant Town, reports have surfaced of another child getting attacked by a squirrel. Last Thursday, in its weekly newsletter to residents, StuyTown Property Services stated that a child was scratched when a squirrel leapt out of a garbage can.
Because of this, management is asking residents not to feed the local wildlife anywhere on the property. SPS also not so subtly alluded to the fact that residents have been ignoring its rule about not feeding squirrels within 50 feet of the playgrounds specifically for children’s use.
Now, along with the signs, if a resident is spotted by a public safety officer feeding the critters near any of those five children’s playgrounds, he or she will be told to stop, a spokesperson for management told us. The rep added that the scratch received by the child wasn’t serious.
On Tuesday, State Senator Brad Hoylman met his battiest constituent yet.
On Primary Day, the scores of candidates on the ballot for citywide races briefly had their thunder stolen by an injured bat and its rescuer, State Senator Brad Hoylman.
Hoylman said he found the creature, which appeared to be in distress, near a tree pit on East 10th Street.
He could see it was still alive though, albeit struggling to right itself by flapping around. The copper-colored bat, Hoylman observed, had a wingspan of about seven inches, although the body was comparatively small. It also had, tiny razor sharp teeth, “so I made sure to stay away,” he added.
Concerned that the bat might expire under the hot sun, Hoylman and Gormley got a box from a nearby restaurant, gently scooped up the bat and put it inside. They then brought it to the Wild Bird Fund, which is headquartered on the Upper West Side.