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The Bees (And Bee Whisperer Tony Bees) Are Back In Town, BABY


By

Rebecca Fishbein

Published May 19, 2016

Modified May 19, 2016


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By

Rebecca Fishbein

Published May 19, 2016

Modified May 19, 2016


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It's been nearly two years since Anthony "Tony Bees" Planakis retired from his role as the NYPD's official beekeeper. But today he buzzed back into action, removing a thousands-strong swarm of bees that made a home in a playground in the Bronx.

The bees in question set upon a fence outside Virginia Park near Parkchester at around 10:20 a.m. today. There were about 15,000 of them, but Former Detective Bees was not deterred—he and the Parks Department were able to safely remove them without causing injury to any humans.

Last year, Planakis made waves when he claimed his former bosses drove him into retirement by accusing him of stealing bees, which he strongly denies. “People were accusing me of stealing bees when they should have been looking at all the high ranking members of the job taking diamonds and money,” he told DNAinfo today, taking a swipe at the current FBI probe into the NYPD's alleged corruption.

Anyway, the bees are safe and on their way to Connecticut, which is good news considering how dire the outlook is for bees (and, by extension, humans) is thanks to global warming. And now Gothamist in-house Apian Expert Ben "Bees' Knees" Yakas, who spent at least 10 minutes today doing this on Slack:

Benjamin: Just when Tony Bees thought he was out... they kept buzzing him back in.
Does a bee man ever really retire? Not when he is so BEE-sy!
Benjamin: Better get Jesus and Mary Chain to reunite, because these bees "just like honey."
Who needs Buzzfeed listicles about Mariah Carey's "Honey" when you can have a real life Buzzzzzzzzzfeed that provides real honey.
Benjamin: Tony Bees must carry a pager, because he is always buzzzzzing from these bee calls.
Benjamin: Like a wise person once said, the sting of retirement is offset by the sting of 10K bees.
Benjamin: Bees kind to one another and always wear protection

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tony bees


Rebecca Fishbein

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