Valentine's skunk seems oddly appropriate

From NBC:

Pepe the Love Skunk will spend this Valentine's Day in a safe, secluded part of Forest Park in Queens after he made a surprise appearance at a greenhouse, according to NYC Parks Rangers.

The skunk, affectionately named for the famous cartoon character, was captured in the Forest Park Greenhouse in Queens on Tuesday.

Parks wildlife experts said that the skunk is in good health and has been humanely relocated elsewhere in the park.

Skunked in Midville

From the Queens Courier:

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.

Who's responsible for grassy strip?

From the Times Ledger:

The city and the head of a Middle Village cemetery are engaged in a not-my-turf war.

The two sides disagree over who is responsible for maintaining an unkempt grassy swath along 73rd Place, but residents who live nearby do not care which side wins the debate. They just want it cleaned up.

The strip of land runs between 68th and 70th avenues along western edge of 73rd Place and creates a no-man’s-land between All Faiths Cemetery and the road.

Empty beer bottles, syringes, used condoms, dog feces and bags of garbage are constantly being discarded in the brush, according to residents.

And the foliage makes a convenient home for vermin like raccoons, skunks, rodents and mosquitoes that cause problems in the neighborhood...

Dan Austin, president of the cemetery, said he has never owned the property, but as a courtesy used to clean it up. The economy and complications with having unionized workers led him to discontinue his maintenance several years ago.

He added that when his crews have previously cleaned the area they found household garbage dumped by neighbors, who left discarded mail bearing their addresses in the refuse.

Skunks are next to go

From the NY Times:

For residents of northern Manhattan and the Bronx, skunks have become the stinkiest unwanted guests of them all. Earlier this spring, residents of Co-op City complained of the striped stinkers invading the garbage, and Inwood and Washington Heights have dealt with them for several years. Last year, our colleague Jim Dwyer, a longtime Heights resident, wrote about an invasion of Bronx skunks into Manhattan that touched off a great skunk battle at his own co-op. Relocation of the critters, he said, was futile. They just came right back.

And the raccoons will, too. We also have skunks here in Queens.

Critters invade abandoned home

From the Times Ledger:

Neighbors living near a vacant Oakland Gardens home said they believe the site has been attracting unwanted critters into their community, including a skunk that has sprayed several neighborhood pets.

The home, at 218-51 Hartland Ave. in Oakland Gardens, has been sitting empty for a number of years following the death of the owner, neighbors said. A car with four flat tires in the driveway has a 2001 inspection sticker in the window, a porch in the back of the property is filled with musty furniture that is stacked in piles and a side door has a broken-out window.

Residents living along the street and behind the vacant property said they were fed up with animals scampering to and from the home during the past few years, including raccoons, rats, possums and a skunk.