Brooklyn Woman: Wasps Have Taken Over Block, City Hasn't Helped
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A woman in Brooklyn said Tuesday that wasps have taken over her street, and she fears her children might get stung at an upcoming weekend event.
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, Mary Jane Koller has been seeing the wasps buzzing right in front of her Dyker Heights home lately.
"They go in and they come out and they go in and they go out," she said. "It's very depressing."
Koller wants the wasps gone.
"I don't want to kill them. I don't want them killed," she said. "I just want them moved where they belong."
Wasps have built two nests inside a tree on the sidewalk. The larger of the two is about the size of a basketball.
"We need to do something, and the quicker the better," Koller said.
A block party is scheduled on the Koller's street for this Saturday, and Koller said she worries the wasps will be attracted by all the food, and might also get agitated.
"It's just wrong that if they come down and attack people, then nobody can have a good time," Koller said. "I don't want the children to get hurt."
Koller said her calls to city agencies have been too easily dismissed, and the whole thing has left her on the verge of tears.
"Animal Control, 311 -- we've called everybody," Koller said. "Nobody -- we get the same answer from everybody -- nobody wants to help us!"
Koller said she received a response from 311.
"They said they were going to send me an application. I haven't gotten it yet," she said. "I pay my taxes and everything, but then I don't get no respect. It's very hard. It's hard to swallow."
Neighbors said Koller is rightfully concerned.
'It's scary. I don't want to come out," said Rose Bianrosa. "We have a dog. We have little kids, you know, and she herself -- she's elderly."
CBS2 reached out to 311, and they suggested Koller now ask the Department of Parks and Recreation for help. The NYPD also said they would look into Koller's complaint, but added they have no record of her calling.