The buzz about the bee hotel on Cooper Square

Photo by Carol from East 5th Street

ICYMI, this new hotel is on Cooper Square. 

This spring, the NYC Department of Transportation, the Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort!) and Rutgers University announced the Pollinator Port Project to create habitats for at-risk native bee populations in select NYC DOT public plazas and Open Streets. 

Per the city: 

As part of the project, 'bee hotels' and 'bee bunkers' will be installed, and vegetation will be planted to provide nourishment for bees and other pollinators. According to the United Nations' Environment Programme, bees are essential for the planet and are a crucial part of the biodiversity needed to sustain life. Bees have fewer habitats in urban areas and often have long distances between green spaces in cities. The installations announced today will provide connections between other green spaces across the city and will attract tickle bees, a small, native bee species that rarely sting.

[Updated] Bee careful around 7th Street and 1st Avenue!

 

Word coming in from Seventh Street at First Avenue: a nearby rooftop beehive apparently broke ... and there's a bit of a swarm here now on this NE corner... thanks to Drew for the clip!

Updated: Mackenna Caughron shared this clip...

 

Updated 5/29:

Thanks to Mariana Matarazzo for sharing the clip of the extraction ...

 

Monday's parting shots

According to the Citizen app yesterday, there was "a report of a swarm of bees in a tree and swarming around people" at First Park on First Street and First Avenue. 

And today, a member of the NYPD beekeepers was spotted doing some follow-up work on the scene... thanks to @aceacekin for the photos...

The bee unit reportedly formed in 2010 when NYC legalized urban beekeeping.

The buzz at La Plaza Cultural

The other day we received news from La Plaza Cultural, the community garden on the southwest corner of Ninth Street and Avenue C.

The garden now has bees, which arrived last Wednesday. (The hives were put in on May 12.)

Here's more from the La Plaza newsletter...

Nestled under a tree, in the Southwest corner of La Plaza, you will find a newly established hive of honeybees.

The colony starts small and will grow taller with more numerous honeybees as the year progresses. Hard-working honeybees are inside building comb and raising babies; outside they are foraging for nectar, pollen and water. Honeybees are gentle, industrious creatures that create beauty in our world and pollinate our food supply.

At La Plaza, Marga Snyder and Grai Rice are the beekeepers establishing this colony for the joy and education of all. Many years ago, there had been two colonies on the roof of the toolshed, long before it became legal again to tend hives in the city limits, and it is a complete delight to bring the bees back.

You can sit quietly and watch them, and listen to the gentle hum of the hive. What you need to know is that they are not aggressive, however they are scared by fast motion and vibration. Grai Rice from HoneybeeLives.org will be doing a couple of hive introductions to garden members, once the colony is more established and honeybees are accustomed to their new urban environment.

Photos courtesy of La Plaza...

The buzz about Alpha Bee City tomorrow night at MoRUS

[Via the King RoyalBee Instagram account]

Via the EVG inbox …

Climate change, pesticides and the loss of native plant habitats are among the factors putting the honeybee population at risk of extinction. With one-third of the U.S. diet derived from insect-pollinated plants, the bee community is essential to the survival of humanity.

In allegiance with the community gardens of the East Village, which has the largest concentration of community gardens in the country, The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will host a special event devoted to raising awareness about the significance of bees.

Offering scientific, artistic, practical and nutritional information about bees and honey, “Alpha Bee City” will take place at MoRUS, 155 Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets tomorrow night at 7 (rescheduled from April 28).

With a mix of slide presentations, discussion and demonstration, contributors to “Alpha Bee City” include:

• Dr. Amy Berkov, community gardener and tropical ecologist, The City College of New York Biology Department, associate at The American Museum of Natural History and The New York Botanical Garden

• Royal KingBee, graffiti artist whose iconic “Bee” signature character is used to raise awareness worldwide about the declining bee population

• Jacqueline Pacheco, fitness, nutrition and honey enthusiast

• Jan Werner, beekeeper from Green Oasis Garden, 8th Street between Avenues C and D.

Admission is free and open to the public. A suggested donation of $5 is always appreciated and bee-themed attire is encouraged.

[Updated] Return of the Summer of Bees!

Earlier today, @k_a_r_p noted "an uncomfortable amount of bees have infiltrated Liquiteria" on Second Avenue at East 11th Street... Well, just a few shown in this photo... but there were some 40 in the place last night... (are they juicing?)

Updated: 5:50 p.m.
@k_a_r_p returned and found a bee-free shop...

Previously.

No! No! No! This is the SUMMER OF THE BEES!

Spotted yesterday on Seventh Street... Bedbugs had their time in the sun. It's the Summer of the Bees! So it should read... "Free: Not Bees Infested." Or something in keeping with the spirit of the note.

The Post making the case that it will be the Summer of the Bees

On Friday, we wrote about how this could be The Summer of the Bees... (taking over for the Summer of the Bedbugs and the Summer of the Rats...)

Well! According to the Post today... police were called to 30 different bee clusters buzzing around buildings, light poles and fire hydrants this spring...

There are now 161 hives registered with the city Health Department, compared to just three in 2010 — the year beekeeping was legalized, the Post notes.

"It hasn't even started yet," said Anthony Planakis, the police officer who for 18 years has been charged with removing the hair-raising clusters. "Within the next week, we're going to be bombarded again."

You've been warned!

Remember those bees the NYPD found on the Bowery earlier today?

The ones that Gawker reported on...?

Well, the NYPD and some bee types just released bees into Tompkins Square Park... Police on the scene said that these were, in fact, the Bowery Bees.

Photos via EVG reader psm ...

Bees on the Bowery!

Word is coming in that a swarm of killer bees has invaded the Bowery the NYPD found a large beehive colony of bees in a tree on the Bowery near East First Street.

Gawker was first to report on this.

There is video. Exclusive video!



Updated
Photo from inside the Bowery Hotel. Oops. No. It's just Olivia de Havilland in "The Swarm." Our photo department's fault.

Today in photos of a swarm of bees on a Lower East Side mailbox

Just sharing a photo by @cookielaz of a swarm of bees on Mulberry and Grand...

BoweryBoogie has more here.