Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Udder Madness in Queens
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
There's nothing like seeing the Gothamist Newsmap and last night seeing an alert for "Cow on the loose" in the Queens. While 1010WINS's lede is very concise - "A cow on the loose in Queens is now in police custody." - the Daily News has amazing coverage of the situation.
Dimitrti Mitropoulos told the News he saw the cow near the Queens Hospital Center's parking lot (he suspects the cow was grazing), so he called 911. "[The operator] asked me what color the cow was and I said, 'Are you joking? It's a cow in New York City.'" So then the police tracked "Mitropoulous with a Global Positioning System device as he followed the cow." Forget Big Brother, it's like Big Old McDonald!
"We must have gone about 2 miles," Mitropoulous said, "and it was running at a good pace for a while. I had to do 20 [mph] to keep up with it. I was driving right alongside. If I had a rope I would have grabbed him."
The chase ended when the cow turned into a yard next to a three-story building at 85-22 144thSt., where it was trapped by more than a dozen radio cars and Fire Department vehicles.
Scores of rubberneckers mounted light poles, and climbed on trucks and garden walls to watch as the pursuers closed in with lassos.
But the cow was not cowed. Queenie bucked, kicked and mooed loudly as she was wrestled toward a waiting NYPD horse trailer.
The tug-of-war clearly tickled a number of onlookers, who began chanting "Attica, Attica" - a reference to the violent suppression of a riot at the upstate prison - while others laughed.
, the police actually lost control of the cow for a moment, which gave the cow a chance to run two houses away, but then the police were finally able to corral him. Police don't know where the cow came from, especially since the cow was not talking, but one resident said that she noticed a brand on it.
It's unclear where the cow will go, but the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, where other farm animals who have been found running loose in the city have headed. Our suggestion, though, is the Queens County Farm Museum, the city's only working farm!
Tagged
alert
animals
big brother
city
daily news
farm sanctuary
fire
fire department
gothamist
Gothamist Newsmap
hospital
Hospital Center
If I
museum
new york
new york city
news
nypd
parking
police
queens
Queens County
queens county farm
queens county farm museum
radio
running
the city
The Police
watkins glen
wnbc
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .