By CATHY BURKE and ERIKA MARTINEZ
May 8, 2008
It was all the buzz on the Upper East Side yesterday, attracting a swarm of giggly gawkers and squeamish spectators.
After all, it's not every day a bee hive is born atop a newspaper vending machine on East 75th Street and Second Avenue.
Police said the frantic calls to 311 began pouring in at around 1 p.m., describing "bumblebees in a bus shelter," and "bees on the phone booth," a source said.
Police then called the Bronx Zoo, which dispatched volunteer beekeeper Jim Fischer. He came armed with water, a teargas-like "bee-smoker" box to contain the bugs, and appropriate headgear.
"Kind of like Ghostbusters, only they're much smaller," he remarked.
Fischer said the swarm was just nature taking its course, but "everybody had a conniption fit."
"It's how they reproduce," he said. "Somewhere around here, there's another hive of bees. This one broke off and followed the queen." FDNY dispatcher Ed Overton III, on a lunch break at the time, said the street took on a carnival atmosphere for a couple of hours.
"Everything stopped for these bees," he marveled. "I'm 6 foot, and I can't stop traffic."
Overton said the firemen standing by were joking with awestruck children getting out from a nearby school.
"They were making buzzing noises, and the kids were watching," he said. "But the bees - they were pretty docile by the time they swarmed on the newspaper box. It was such a weird city sight."
A stunned spectator, Bill Orfanon, said he first noticed the swarm flying overhead "like debris, floating around in a whirlwind. It was pretty amazing."
The police source said even crusty veterans were astounded.
"It's the first time we've seen this," the source said. "In light of the bee shortage, I'm happy to see that the bees are thriving on Second Avenue."
