Homemade Hives Housed Millions Of Bees
The term “sting operation” took on a whole new meaning last Wednesday, Aug. 22, when police removed nearly four dozen hives containing over three million bees from the backyard of a Corona home, it was reported.
Officers from the 110th Precinct responded to the home of Yi Ze Chen on 111th Street last Wednesday after receiving reports of 45 active hives located in the resident’s backyard.
Andrew Cote of the New York Beekeeper’s Association, a non-profit group which promotes legal and safe beekeeping across the city, told the Times Newsweekly in a phone interview that Chen had reached out to the group two weeks earlier seeking assistance in bringing the bee farm he started under control.
Cote learned that Chen had developed a bee hive with the intent of producing homemade honey which could be sold to local retailers. In time, the farm grew to 45 hives which produced over 1,200 lbs. of honey.
In observing the hives for himself, Cote reportedly found them to be in very terrible shape. Located in a small yard, the hives were very close together; in some cases, they stood only a few feet from neighboring homes.
Cote pointed out that neighbors had previously contacted police about the conditions in Chen’s backyard, with some claiming that they had been stung by a few of the bees.
“Those hives are in terrible shape,” the beekeeping expert stated, pointing out that the wooden hives had been completely stripped of honey. “A hive should be between 150 and 180 lbs. These hives weighed between 40 and 50 lbs.”
Moreover, the condition of the hives were also indicative that many of the bees had become diseased, Cote noted.
A specialist with the Department of Health, which regulates beekeeping in the city, inspected the hives last Wednesday and called for their removal, Cote stated.
Local police officers and members of the New York Beekeepers Association came to the home along with Det. Anthony Planakis, who is no stranger to sticky situations involving bees. He has been called upon by the NYPD many times to use the beekeeping skills he plies in his spare time to bring situations involving hundreds of stinging insects under control.
Earlier this summer, he reportedly helped remove a hornet’s nest located near the intersection of Knickerbocker Avenue and Eldert Street in Bushwick after several individuals had been stung by the aggressive bugs.
Previously assigned to the 114th Precinct, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly appointed him as the NYPD’s “beekeeper commissioner” earlier this month, making Planakis the department’s official go-to officer whenever a swarm situation develops in the five boroughs.
Planakis, police and volunteer beekeepers worked through the night to remove the hives and the bees, which were brought to a location on Long Island. Due to their condition, Cote questioned whether they bees would survive.
