June 19, 2001
They say Central Park isn't as dangerous as it used to be — or they were saying it until last weekend, at any rate, when a pint-sized alligator was spotted lurking in the Harlem Meer, a small lake in the northeastern section of the park.
According to the Associated Press, the 18- to 24-inch displaced reptile was seen by as many as two dozen people, including park employees and one off-duty NYC police officer. More of New York's Finest quickly arrived and sealed off the area with yellow tape, but failed to apprehend the scaly intruder. As of this writing it remains at large (see update).
As most people know, alligators figure prominently in the folklore of New York City, where for decades it has been rumored that infant gators brought back from Florida as household pets often ended up being flushed down the toilet by their bored owners, only to thrive and breed in Gotham's dank sewers. While that is purely the stuff of legend, it is a matter of record that alligators and their crocodilian relatives have been sighted in and around greater New York over the past 70 years, lending fuel to the folklore.
Historical sightings
- On June 30, 1932, the New York Times reported that police were searching for a "swarm" of alligators sighted by two small boys near the Bronx River. Though the kids produced a dead 36-inch specimen collected along the shore, investigating officers concluded it was someone's unfortunate pet and that the alleged "swarm" had been nothing but the figment of some youthful imaginations.
- The Times reported on February 10, 1935 that a group of teenagers had captured and killed a 125-pound alligator they encountered while shoveling snow into a manhole at East 123rd Street. Neighbors theorized it must have fallen into the river from a boat steaming up from the tropical Everglades.
- A barge captain on the East River spotted a four-foot gator swimming toward him "from the Brooklyn shore" on May 31, 1937. The captain, "a sober man aware of responsibility" in the words of the New York Times, lassoed the creature with a makeshift lariat and called police. Again the theory was that it may have hitched a ride to the big city on a boat from warmer climes.
- In August 1982, a 26-inch specimen — most likely an escaped pet — was sighted in a Westchester reservoir.
- According to the Times, the last Gotham "gator scare" occurred when another illegal pet alligator — a four-footer that turned up in Kissena Lake in Queens — was captured and shipped off to Jacksonville, Florida in July 1997.
So, while last weekend's close encounter was a first for Central Park, it was by no means a novelty for the Big Apple generally, where even alligators, it seems, can find their 15 minutes of fame.
(Sources: Associated Press, New York Times, New York Post)
