Where Pets Are Allowed, and Neighbors Are Furry

by Sherry Morse and Sarah Wahlert

Some lucky East Village, NY squirrels are benefitting from a new housing plan in Tompkins Square Park approved by the Parks Conservancy.

Squirrel houses are being installed in the elm trees of the park to protect the animals from harsh elements. Two are already in place, 20 feet in the air, and six more are to be erected by winter. The homes are made from everyday items, but will be enforced with polyuretane, mesh and mosaic tiles.

The concept for the squirrel housing came from an odd triumvirate: Carol Vinzant, an East Village journalist; Jim Power, a local mosaic artist, and Bernard H. Goetz, who made headlines nearly two decades ago when he shot four young men on the subway. [Mr. Goetz, who told the police he feared the men were going to rob him, was subsequently convicted on a weapons charge.] Ms. Vinzant, a former co-manager of the park’s dog run who has lobbied city agencies for a hawk nest and bat house in the park, met Mr. Goetz while she was caring for a baby squirrel she found shivering on the sidewalk.

"None of the bureaus wanted to help, so the parks people suggested I try Bernie," said Vinzant. "I called, and he immediately said, ‘Oh, you have a baby squirrel for me?’"

Mr. Goetz, who describes his current occupation as buying and selling industrial electronics, runs a makeshift squirrel infirmary from his apartment. He said he developed his love for them four years ago, when a friend brought brother and sister squirrels covered with bite marks to his apartment.

"I took them in and just fell in love with them," Goetz said. He estimated that 30 percent of squirrel deaths in New York occur because of the cold, but also acknowledged that the housing doesn’t do much to address the issue of overpopulation.

"They just suffer so much in the winter," Goetz said. "There’s got to be a better way of controlling the population."

During an early spring snowstorm, five furry tenants could be seen jostling for personal space in one of the houses. By next winter, that kind of overcrowding should be less of a problem.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.