Staten Island Man's Calls To Relocate Hornets' Nest On City Tree Go Unanswered
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One New York City neighborhood is swarming with hornets, and despite all the buzz, nothing is being done.
A giant insect nest hanging precariously over a Westerleigh sidewalk seems like something out of a movie.
"Wow, I've never seen anything so big before. I mean, maybe on TV, but other than that, I've never seen a beehive that big in person," neighbor Joseph Ramos told CBS2's Tara Jakeway.
It's actually a hornets' nest, about two feet wide and two feet tall.
But for homeowner Jerry Mazzone, it's a grim reality.
"They're coming this way. They're coming out of the woodwork," he said.
Hundreds of hornets have set up shop feet from his front stoop.
"I happened to be throwing the garbage out one night and I look up and I say, wow, where did this come from?" Mazzone said.
That was a couple weeks ago, and since the flying insects appeared, Mazzone's neighbors have disappeared, avoiding the area entirely.
"That's scary. You know, we're walking with babies and you never know," neighbor Lena Presti said.
Presti used to walk along that stretch of sidewalk daily with her granddaughter. Now, she stays on the other side of the street.
Mazzone took what he thought were the correct steps to deal with the insects.
"I called 311, they called 911 and the cops came. I don't think it was big enough for them," he said.
Then he says he called the parks department, but still no one has come.
Mazzone has lived in his Staten Island home for 31 years. He takes pride in maintaining his property, but with the tree on the other side of the sidewalk, Mazzone believes the city owns it and should maintain it.
"You would think that the city tree department would handle this because I can't cut a branch down without them knowing about it," he said.
Out of frustration, Mazzone finally used his own money to buy insect killer, but still, they swarm.
So far, no one has been stung, but Mazzone says if the city doesn't act he'll have to risk it and take down the hornets' nest himself.
The city parks department has not responded to our request for comment.
