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Michele Howley asked us if we knew anything about raccoons in Brooklyn. Wait, we should back up. She actually detailed a bizarre encounter with raccoons - including baby racoons - and the NYPD in Williamsburg and wondered if anyone else noticed raccoons in the midst. Her story was so good (there's a 311 call!) that we had to share it with you too:
On Friday evening, Tobyjoe and I walked to Miyako on North 7th to get some Sushi. As we were leaving, we saw a small group of hipster gals standing at the empty lot next to the Fish Shack. They were giggling and bending down and taking pictures. Knowing that there are numerous stray cats in said lot, I figured they were having a moment with the kitties. We walked up and looked in. Mind you, it was very much still daylight and so you might imagine how shocked I was to see a pack of raccoons swarming the lot. They were tearing into a bunch of cat food cans left there for the strays while the strays were standing outside the fence where the people were, scared out of their heads and equally as confused and perplexed as
we all were.Tobyjoe counted 6 raccoons. There was a mother whose nipples were still stretched out from all the work and at least 5 babies. They were fighting with one another over the food. They were making noises like gremlins. It was actually kind of scary.
I'm from the country. Last time I checked, raccoons aren't supposed to be out during the day. If they are, often times that means they might be rabid. I am sure you know this. Everyone else on the street that day, however, did not. The girls wanted to pet them. I advised them not to. I called 311 who decided that 911 would be better for me even though it
wasn't an emergency. 911 sent the NYPD. They showed up a few minutes later. (Had this been Bed Stuy, I'd still be waiting. But Williamsburg! And they're there in minutes flat. Literally.)
Of course, by the time they got there, the raccoons knew to finish the cat food and then go into hiding again. Worried the cop wouldn't believe me; I offered to go buy another can of food. He then told me that I am not the only person to have reported a bunch of hungry and wile raccoons. He, himself, had taken several similar calls. When I asked him whether or not they planned on doing anything about it, he said, "Well, ma'am, they were probably here before you and me." He also said that one day he saw a raccoon walking up Graham Avenue and drove around the block to get a double take.We do not know. Could this be due to a lot of trash and/or construction detritus being left around for raccoons? And when judgment day comes, who will reign supreme: Raccoons or hipsters?I apologized for bringing them old news and so they went on their way, as did we. But I'm still a little perplexed as to why there is apparently a raccoon outbreak sweeping Williamsburg and Greenpoint. And it's a little disconcerting they're coming out during the day.
What the hell is going on?
Photograph from luna park on Flickr; also, someone noticed raccoons in a Brooklyn backyard tree, which makes more sense
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I'm not surprised. They pop out in Queens, especially around Flushing Meadows and Cunningham Park.
It would be wise that any Hipster that encounters a Raccoons should leave it be, especially when they're with its young ones since they can become quite ravenous
Raccoons > Hipsters
Hmm, hipsters with rabies.
there are tons of raccoons in that lot. they're really brave; sometimes they will just be roaming around on N. 7th. very bizarre.
I would suspect that raccoons who have adjusted to living in the city aren't quite as strictly nocturnal as their country counterparts are. They are likely less afraid of humans (although probably not an animal you'd want to pet, rabid or not) and have to worry less about predators.
My own daytime urban raccoon experience happened in Providence five or six years ago. I was sitting in a small, mostly paved, park, eating lunch and reading a book. I took my last bite, put down the book, and looked up to see a huge raccoon (easily 30lbs) sitting inches from my feet, watching me eat. I pulled back, startled, which startled the raccoon, who also stepped back, then seeing that I had finished my lunch, wandered off.
The raccoons are reclaiming Brooklyn! Repent! Repent!
If you ever go in the backyard of carmayas there are two empty overgrown backyards next to it. This is where they live and I can hear them all the time. I have also seen a possum in my yard.
they are a problem here in Queens. I saw two in Bayside once, luckily I was in a car and it was at night.
However, the next time I saw one was on my way to school at 6am, in Woodside. It was eating and when I saw it, I screamed and ran towards the bus stop. I haven't seen it around the neighborhood since.
There are also apparently possums in Hoboken. Obviously, they're of the frat boy, less cool variety.
Well, my neighbor has a “parking” lot next to his house, where mama raccoon and her three kids live behind the shed. I know this because they like to eat my tree at night, and those Gremlin noises are rather common for me. This is all happening a few blocks from Prospect Park, and the city won’t do a thing unless rabies are in the picture.
Maybe they are becoming the new generation of strays.
coon skin hats are going to be the hippest accessory of the fall!
Raccoons and possums are at war for the soul of the greater metropolitan New York City region. Raccoons will rise up in a mighty wave and prevail!
One night 2 years ago on steamy August night, a group of "hipsters" had a Racoon "hipster" encounter after a night of classy music, boys and gals.
We hipsters walked on North 3rd from Kent Avenue towards Bedford Avenue. We started to hear gremling cool melody rythm sounds, it was the real avant-garde, a mix of metal drums with a screatching voice, a hipster melody beyond our phenomenal drunkedness.
As we followed the sound, we spotted one hipster baby racoon on its back legs {sense it lives in Williamsburg we must also reffer to it as a hipster}. The hip baby racoon was trying to look over a super hip metal trash can, this trash can had some faboulous alien graffiti mind you, so it was definetly a hispter trash can. Right?
The hip racoon, was running around trying to reach something inside of the trash can, all this time the gremling melody was keeping up the rythm of our dazzling hipster heads.
Finally I approached the trash can and ralized there was a trapped hipster baby racoon inside, and its bro was trying to save him.
So we hipsters decided to help the scared baby racoons,
we kicked the trash can over and the two hipster baby racoons were reunited and run togetherly happyly away from us hipsters saviours of hipster racoons in our hispter hood.
Sigh... it was a beautiful Williamsburg night....
Wish you were hip enough to live in our hipster hood.
long live Williamsburg
Occasionally a raccoon hangs out in a backyard tree behind my bf's apartment in Harlem.
how long until the raccoons start wearing pumas? This neighb was so good before the raccoons drove up the rents.
Rizz, re your question, racoons are an Adidas species, thank you very much.
"Hipster cocoon story" dude, you might want to lay off the alcoholic beverages at work. Just a suggestion.
OMG, funniest comments of the day are on this thread - 1.) Mark, 2.) rizz and 3). the hipster raccoon story.
Last year when I used to take the 5am subway I saw them like every other day digging in the trashcan near the 9Av station of the D train in Sunset Park that I take. And one Sunday evening this April in the Prospect Park on the western side I saw them sitting on the top of the columns of one these mansion buildings...it looked really cool, two columns with a raccoon on the top of each, sitting straight and almost not moving, the fit right in like they were actually a sculpture, I wish I had a camera with me that evening
I've noticed the uptick in racoons as well. I grew up on Staten Island and went the first 30 years of my life without seeing one. Then this past spring I was pulling into my parking space one night when I saw one just ambling down the middle of my street not really caring too much about anything. My part of Staten Island isn't woodsy at all so I was pretty amazed at the sight. Needless to say, I've heard all the rabid raccoon stories and gave it a very wide berth. I wonder if this means that animals are just claiming a place for themselves in the city because there is no country left for them to go to. It's our own version of the mountain lion in the backyard you hear about from out west occassionlly.
I was going to ask poster 9, BGP, if s/he lived anywhere near 17th street because MY neighbor ALSO has a "parking" lot with racoons coming into our backyard and eating our trees and then I noticed that BGP is actually my wife. (Hi!).
So, yes, we apparently have a family of racoons with mama racoon at the helm and three baby racoons. Our neighbor, of "parking" lot fame, actually had one of the baby racoons come into his house and lay on his countertop waiting for them to come home.
We are not hipsters though. Sorry.
notice there are no sightings on the upper east side as no self respecting hipster racoon would be caught dead on the upper east side.
Burn - there was one in the backyard outside my window a few weeks back. Where do I live? The Upper east side. When I mentioned a raccoon sighting to my super he got pissy and said I should have called 311 because they are a health risk. I had to explain to him that I was transfixed by a FUCKING RACCOON in my backyard.
Ari, had you called 311 you would have been even more lost. The 311 dispatcher wanted nothing to do with the raccoon situation. She was, in fact, totally confused. I asked for the number for animal control (there is such a thing, right?) and she insisted she forward me to the 911. The 911 lady kept asking me "IS ANYBODY HURT? IS ANYBODY HURT?" I told her no. Then she said, "ARE THEY BEING VIOLENT?" They weren't actually tearing off anybody's faces at the time but they were nasty as hell to one another. They're related and they were clawing each other's faces off.
As soon as I realized how little 311 and 911 cared, I began to feel really freaking stupid for making the call in the first place. I felt like one of those uppity neighborhood types. Rest assured, however, I have now learned my lesson and even if those nasty bandits start mistaking rat-tails and fohawks as potential mates, I would not pick up the phone.
311’s a joke in your town, well, at least when it concerns raccoons.
Simon - I've seen those racoons a month ago, hanging out in the wooded area across from the D platform.
Anyone see the freaked out tripfest "Pom Poko" from studio gibli?
I've seen Raccoons in Sheepshead Bay, apparantly they are all over Bklyn.
ari-
you probably saw the close cousin of the hipster raccoon the fratcoon. common mistake as they both act as though they are far more interesting than the average racoon but if you look closely you can see the telltale DG on the mask of the fratcoon which is absent from the aviator style mask on his hipster cousin
Anyone see the freaked out tripfest "Pom Poko" from studio gibli?
Are you suggesting that hipster raccoons have giant nutsacks?
I think we have an urban legend in the making here.
It's also not uncommon to see raccoons in Central Park. I've seen them several times in the area around the Harlem Meer. They particularly seem to be attracted to the kiddies' playground. Could it be the water sprinkler? Or maybe it's just the candy, potato chips, etc. that weren't properly disposed of in the trash containers?
Pretty soon the racoons will acquire a taste for human brains, and then we'll all be screwed.
At least it's not skunks. Then the hipsters will have reason to complain.
Or they might just think it's weed.
miyako is on north 6th. Therefore, this whole story is a total lie.
I saw raccoons at Hurrican Hopeful on N6. I was totally surprised!
my wife woke up about a week ago cause she heard something on the roof of our south slope house. she turned on the patio lights and was suddenly face to face w/3 racoons, 2 large and one small. they proceeded to dig into (and destroy) some of our potted plants. i think they were looking for potatoes (potatoe vines), and other roots to eat. they took their time, then took off.
1. okay, "hipster with rabies" - sam rocks.
2. johnny b. "I saw raccoons at Hurrican Hopeful on N6." that's where i saw i gigantic fat whacky-shiney-eyed racoon about 3 years ago, very late at night. i've lived in the vicinity for 15 years, and, as i owned a restaurant close by, had many opportunities to walk my dog late at night. while i never so a racoon in the daytime, i never saw one at night, either, till that fateful night on north 6th, just opposite caramya/hurricane hopeful. that fat bastard was feeling it, and he was gorgeous.
3. BRUCE NAMES IT AND CLAIMS IT: "If you ever go in the backyard of carmayas there are two empty overgrown backyards next to it. This is where they live and I can hear them all the time. I have also seen a possum in my yard."
4. special j. takes the prize for "fratcoon". i think i love you.
5. 311 - oh, piffle. it's bullhockey.
6. rizz also very funny.
all of that said, i'm from deep country, and i can tell you a couple of things about racoons. they're cute as hell, they're cunning and smart, and they will kill your cat dead. if you live around racoon central, keep your cats in the house.
oh, and the person who told the story about the racoon waiting on the counter? i don't know how i feel. i'd be upset because i have cats, and a dog, but, still ... it would be so delightful to find one of those fat funny motherfuckers in the kitchen. it would be an event, no? i'm sure it would make me supremely happy, just so long as it hadn't eaten one of my animals. and, oh, yeah, they are rabies carriers.
finally, when i lived in a house with a second floor deck, in the mountains, i'd put the garbage out at the end of the deck, as it was only picked up once a week. i used to watch these guys take a running start from one end of the deck, get almost to the bag, life up in the air like a thing possessed, spread all four legs out, and descend into a belly flop onto the bag. they managed to get enough force on the angle to push the bag over the edge of the deck and down one flight to the ground. the full bag cushioned the fall, and then ... the moveable feast was consumed.
i was just enchanted by their skill and intelligence, until they killed my cat.
and, so, ladies and gentlemen, it goes.
Raccoons are the new black...err rats.
In any case, if they manage to get rid of hipsters, I don't mind getting rabies.
thank god im not going ga ga - i feed wild kittens and parents in a warehouse on s9th in williamsburg. Watching from my window I saw 2 'devil'! cats hunched back and huge climb the wire walls and eat all the stray cat food. My eye sights not that good, not that trendy... but do raccoons climb like that? Are the cats safe?