Residents who live along the train tracks in Middle Village have long complained of noise and odors emanating from the rails, though now locals say they’ve been infested with a new disturbance.
Over the past year, those who reside near the railroad tracks say they have experienced an increase in wildlife roaming city streets.
“Come 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the morning, you see what’s running around the neighborhood,” said Maspeth resident Tony Nunziato of the mostly nocturnal animals. “You’ll have every kind of animal down there. A lot of possum, skunks, rodents; it’s just a breeding ground.”
The influx of vermin have congregated near the tracks because of a lack of oversight by CSX, the company that runs the rails, residents said, leading to overgrown brush and litter from rail cars carrying construction debris, which they say is not securely sealed.
As of press time, CSX did not respond for comment.
15 comments:
Midville isn't alone with the nocturnal creatures. They're all over the borough..you're not the only hamlet. Once it's dark, they all come out rummaging through the garbage and backyards. Best not go out at night or they're going to get you.
The skunks and vermin are the least of Midville's problems. I believe Dennis Gallagher still lives in that town. Now that's a real problem, hide your grandmothers!
Well, ah, I guess the problem is the CSX knows that your community board, your electeds, your community newspapers and 'Virginia Joe' himself will do nothing about this and, dear people, the minute that changes the CSX problem will vanish like a lonesome train whistle into the night.
Anon #1 you are right.
But it's better to blame an evil corporation like CSX then the people who are really responsible. The city/state government.
Allow me to own a 22 cal varmint gun with a night scope and I'll get rid of the problem for free.
Nothing new.
When we were kids Robert Hall Village was being built we would go in there and shoot the rats with pellet guns.
The rats were killing all the small snakes that lived along the tracks, they would even jump at birds. There was all this wildlife back then but people never saw it because MV was super clean. Now this wildlife is baited by all the garbage.
BTW: You could go almost anywhere in Queens via those railroad track ROWs'
We had a small Ridgewood gang, the people used to call us "The Boogiemen" because we would appear out of nowhere and leave no traces or garbage behind ---unlike the automobile and graffiti vandals (who we hunted and beat the shit out of) Those railroad and people living near the tracks loved us, we could hang out anywhere and never have the cops called.
Joe: Please, reconstitute "The Boogiemen". I wanna sign up and be a proud card-carrying member. I'll do the public relations - for free!
Middle Village always had wildlife. Lutheran and Mount Olivet Cemeteries were home to pheasants, partridge and rabbits. Snakes, lizards and toads abounded. And yes, there were skunks.
I once caught a four foot snake in Lutheran near CTK HS.
Part of the problem is not the railroad, it is Renatar Plaza. The rats thrive on all the garbage from that dump. Better refuse control by BJ's et al will eliminate most of the vermin.
Anon 3: The Times Ledger is a community newspaper. Try again.
Anon 3: I mean the Courier is a community newspaper. Oops.
People should be happy to see some of the native critters in the neighborhood. Sure, a raccoon might knock over a garbage can from time to time, but skunks, 'possums and raccoons are esentially benighn beings that go their own way and generaly leave you alone.
I'd be far more concerned with two-legged vermin, which have a negative effect on both quality of life and, at times, life, health and property. (See example in "Sightseeing in Flushing", two posts down.
Oh no! wild animals! nature! city folk in a panic!!!
These animals have been around here since before NYC was NYC. Anyone worried about that should move to manhattan. Oh no wait they have raccoons, skunks and coyotes there too.
I love how CSX gets blamed for the trash on those tracks when it's neighborhood residents and others passing through who throw trash off the overpasses onto the tracks. If you go down there and look at the litter you'll see pizza boxes from local pizza places, etc. The trains pass through - they're not stopping, climbing to the street, hopping a fence and going to the Chinese place on the corner.
Any trash carried on those trans is sealed up in containers. Any train car with anything falling out of it is not moved until the situation ins corrected. They're inspected before leaving every yard.
People really need to get the above through their thick skulls. If there is litter in your neighborhood, you need to look in the mirror and look at your neighbors and those walking your streets... usually the paper litter is from businesses posting flyers all over town (which is their first amendment right, hilariously enough).
oh and 'Joe' - I really wouldn't recommend bringing a pellet gun to an automatic weapons fight. Today's vandals aren't the pushovers they were in your time.
And you need to get through your thick skull that the origin of the litter is not the issue. The railroad not cleaning up their own property, like every other property owner in NYC is expected to is the problem. If someone tosses a pizza box on my lawn, I am responsible for cleaning it up. It sucks, but that's life.
Sorry QC, I usually agree with you, but it's hard to blame the RR for not cleaning up the stuff people throw out.
How far do we take that idea ?
Does AMTRAK need to clean it's rails? And how clean is clean ?
How often do we clean it ?
Truth is that there is plenty of naturally occurring food sources that attract animals.
Ask yourself why coyotes came across the Throgs Neck Bridge? Did they know the food was going to be in Queens for them?
All animals are predators of other animals or plant life. And they are opportunistic.
Of course Amtrak needs to clean its rails. Suffice it to say that if cleaning happened once a week, or even once a month, these problems would not be so bad. Yes, there are plenty of naturally occurring food sources, but it's trash that turns nature into a nuisance.
The railroad geeks are showing their nerdy heads. Runaway!
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