Spotted On Manhattan Avenue: Raccoon On The Run

January 25, 2012 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

This afternoon Manhattan Avenue had some added excitement in the way of a raccoon which had found his (?) way onto the fire escape above (ironically/amusingly enough) Pets On The Run. Was he or she a bit peckish and opted to get a little take-out? Quite possibly. Regardless, a raccoon (a nocturnal creature by habit) being at large during the day, much less in such a populated area, is not a good sign. Be mindful of your windows, north’ Point pet owners. These critters do NOT mix well with cats!

UPDATE, 5:00 p.m.: I have been told by the D. I. Hurson of the 94th Precinct that this fellow/lass has been delivered to Animal Care & Control and apparently our Finest were called to collect two opossums on Frost Street yesterday. Never a dull moment, folks…

Photo Credits: Anonymous

Posted by missheather 2 Comments

From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Raymond

July 11, 2010 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

This shot of one of the infamous Mark Bar raccoons, Raymond, comes courtesy of autovac. Too cute!

Miss Heather

Posted by missheather 3 Comments

From The New York Shitty Inbox: An Update Regarding The Mark Bar Raccoon

July 1, 2010 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

(Or, make that: raccoons)

I asked for it and I got it: the skinny on what happened at the Mark Bar Tuesday night. K writes:

It’s true: I first came across a baby raccoon near the Mark Bar late Tuesday night. It was the size of a kitten, and appeared scared and lost. I followed, then cornered it as I called 311: there was nothing anyone could do, the responder said; ASPCA was closed till morning.

Then last night there were about a half dozen police officers – and another half dozen onlookers – outside the Mark Bar with a spotlight directed toward the roof; cushions lined the sidewalk. Sure enough, you could see raccoons scurrying about in a hole near the roof molding. Apparently two had already fallen (hence the cushions).

I later found out the baby raccoon I tried to save on Tuesday was put to sleep. So was an adult yesterday. Another baby was let loose in McCarren Park; a third baby is….. well, living in a cage in the Mark Bar right now.

In addition, bleibtreu has tendered his (her?) two cents via comments. I have taken the liberty of highlighting the passage I found most interesting):

The first good news is that the raccoon didn’t seem to be injured at all. It did lie on the ground not moving for about 90 seconds, then was up and walking. Cooperation between patrons and staff from the Mark Bar and Tommy’s Tavern brought a plastic cat carrier to the scene, and the raccoon was placed inside with the plan for someone to take him home for the night in the hopes that arrangements could be made today to get him to a safe place. I don’t know what happened with that today; a woman who had just left the Mark Bar was contacted by phone and said she worked with some wildlife organizations and may be able to find a place. Someone else had volunteered just to set it loose in his backyard.

There were at least two more still up there, peeking outside. Somebody called the police, from what I saw there was one actual cop and five or six auxiliaries standing around. After one made a crack about “target practice” and was met with anger from the crowd, they ended up doing nothing. The cop said that since there was no immediate danger it wasn’t their concern.

Another raccoon had also fallen the night before. That time, as I understand it, the police responded and took it, saying it would be euthanized — but that’s second hand. But that’s why the bar staff didn’t want NYPD to be called this time. However, no one could be reached at Animal Control and 311 had no other help to offer.

So there have you.

Miss Heather

Posted by missheather 5 Comments

Greenpoint Survival Tip: A Raccoon Is NOT a Cat

September 17, 2009 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

Last night at around 11:30 p.m. the cats started to collect around my bedroom window. Sure enough, our new friend was back in search for grub. He (or she) didn’t have to look very hard as one of my neighbors (who was watching with bemused interest) tossed a large hunk of naan for his culinary pleasure.

With a dull thud this landed about nine feet from our kitchen window. I decided to take action.

Hey, don’t throw food for him to eat!

I shouted.

What?

was his reply.

Me: DO NOT GIVE THIS ANIMAL FOOD. It is a raccoon.
Neighbor: ?
Me: IT IS A RACCOON.
Neighbor: What’s a raccoon?
Me: IT IS A WILD ANIMAL. It might have rabies for all we know. DON’T FEED IT!!!
Neighbor: I thought it was a cat.

Me: It’s not a cat. Don’t feed it, ok?

And with this I thought the evening’s excitement had concluded. It didn’t: my neighbor (wishing to be helpful) decided to get rid of our nocturnal visitor. His plan (throwing eggs at it) had a number of fundamental flaws. Among them:

As I have noted previously, a raccoon is not a cat. Throwing eggs at a cat (though I have never tried it) will probably make it go away. Throwing eggs at a hungry raccoon will not. The fertilized unfertilized ovum of a domesticated fowl is not a deterrent to such a creature: it is a second course. As we both learned.
This Good Samaritan’s aim was— how should I put it— a bit “off”. Instead of reaching its intended target his salvo skidded along the rooftop and splattered my window screen with aborted chicken goodness.

What followed has to be seen to be believed.

It took me a good five minutes of beating my maglite against the windowsill to make this scavenger go away. This din woke the Mister up and a whole new round of late night hilarity commenced. And on that note, dear readers, I am off to take up this matter with this gentleman’s landlord.

Miss Heather

Posted by missheather 9 Comments

Greenpoint Critter Watch: He’s BAAAAACK!

September 11, 2009 ·
Filed under: 11222, Greenpoint, Greenpoint Brooklyn, Greenpoint Magic

Last night there was a flurry of excitement at Chez Shitty. I first noticed something was amiss when I walked into the bedroom to discover this.

It has been my experience that when I stumble upon three or more of our cats convened in such a manner it can only spell trouble. The fact our rather corpulent calico, Uni, has troubled to join in is even more disconcerting. You see, Miss Uni is without argument one of the laziest cats to ever to grace this planet. Even in the annals of catdom she would be considered an underachiever. Many (most) a day has come to pass when she sleeps on our bed for eight hours on a clip, waking up only to roll over. The craters she has left in our foam mattress pad is a testament to this and her ever-expanding girth. But I digress.

Suspecting that we had a “visitor” I grabbed the maglite and my camera.