Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Raccoon Invades Park Slope Brownstone
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 23, 2010
Modified Jul 23, 2010
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 Carlson
Published Jul 23, 2010
Modified Jul 23, 2010
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
Raccoons are either preparing for some kind of animal takeover of the human race (what else were they in the library for), or they just really want our cereal and prime Brooklyn real estate. Either way, this story might put the fear in some Brownstone-dwellers. A FIPS reader sent in this photo with an equally crazy story; head over here for the full tale, but to summarize: the raccoon is calling from inside the building!
This kitchen is on the 3rd floor of a brownstone, in which the same tenants live on the 3rd and 4th floors. When one of them awoke, they came upon this scene—as well as a huge mess in the kitchen. They believe the raccoon got in by making a hole in the screen of a nearby window. The horrible thing is, this raccoon in the photo isn't trying to get out of the silverware drawer, it actually died trying to. The tenants said, "it must have gotten its head out and then suffocated as it couldn't get its body out. So, the raccoon was dead by the time we got up in the morning and its body was still in the cabinet." Oh, but it gets ever more sad! "In the morning, its baby was outside on the fire escape sleeping! My landlady got a pest control company to remove the raccoon while we were at work and we haven't seen the baby again."
That orphaned raccoon will now spend the rest of its life seeking revenge, either that or it also died and its ghost will spend eternity haunting brownstones.
Tagged
brooklyn
brownstone
raccoon
raccoons
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson 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 news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
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 .