Swarm of 20,000 bees attack New York City hotdog stand

Hordes of people eagerly watched an NYPD officer-turned-beekeeper remove the insects from a stall ... with a vacuum

Adam Gabbatt

Tue 28 Aug 2018 22.39 BSTLast modified on Wed 29 Aug 2018 10.14 BST

Productivity came to a halt across New York City offices on Tuesday afternoon, as hordes of people eagerly followed the removal of 20,000 bees from a hotdog stand.

The bees had swarmed the hotdog stand, a block south of Times Square, around 1pm.

Thousands watched a Reuters livestream – the stand is located outside the news agency’s New York headquarters – and followed on Twitter as a police officer was called in to remove the bees. With a vacuum cleaner.

A section of the street at the corner of 42nd Street and 7th Avenue was closed as the delicate procedure took place.

Officers from the New York police department stood guard, some more willingly than others, as one of their colleagues donned a beekeeper’s hat and approached the hotdog stand.

The bees had gathered in a densely packed, roughly 15-square-foot clump, and the unidentified officer, who wore a white jacket, thick gloves and has a moustache, proceeded to vacuum up the bees. The bee cleansing took about 40 minutes, much of which was watched online.

By around 3pm, the officer, who told journalists he “has training”, had removed the bulk of the bees, but many remained in the area, swarming around a selection of soft drinks displayed on the hotdog stall.

Asked if it was safe to remain in the area, a uniformed police officer pointed to his colleague and said: “He’s sucking them up.” He added: “There’ll be no more problems.”

Continued