It wasn’t a swarm of celebrities or paparazzi but bees that descended on Cipriani Wall Street yesterday.
Over 12,000 bees mobbed the steel front door of the swanky Italian restaurant, an offshoot of the famed uptown location, around 11:30 a.m.
The bees were trying to make Cipriani their new hive, said Officer Anthony Planakis, official beekeeper of the NYPD.
“This is where the queen decided to land and the rest of the hive followed her,” said Planakis, who said he inherited his love of beekeeping from his father. “Their mother hive must be 150 yards away from here.”
He wasn’t sure what attracted the bees to Cipriani, but said it might be a flower patch near the door.
Due to the high number, Planakis needed to use a special vacuum to suck the bees into a bucket, fitted tightly with a lid. Few of the bees were harmed in the removal, he said, and he plans to take them up to hives he keeps in Connecticut.
Cipriani was closed yesterday, and the NYC Health Department said they will follow up today.
