“I waved my arms and yelled at it but it just looked at me and wouldn’t leave,” Harlem resident Oscar Bleetstein tells DNAinfo.
Raccoon sightings on West 119th Street have increased over the last few months. They’re “as big as small dogs” and aren’t afraid of humans.
Locals have observed packs of raccoons “roaming the streets and sidewalks day and night and congregating in residents’ backyards and gardens” between Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Lenox Avenue, scampering around their trashcans and outdoor furniture, leaving a heavy ammonia scent of their piss behind.
Animal Care and Control won’t do anything about this until one has “bitten or scratched a person or animal.” Concerned residents have the option of hiring an expensive professional to remove the protected animals or waiting until a raccoon destroys or damages property, in which case they are allowed to “destroy” the animal, which sounds like a bloody fucking awful thing to do. (Photo: @trikersticks)
