Community Corner

Douglaston Resident to City: You Can't Bee Serious

City drops violation against homeowner who was accused of not providing adequate water for a beehive on his property.

The city plans to drop a violation against a Douglaston resident who had been accused of not properly providing water for a hive of 50,000 bees on his property, a spokeswoman for the city’s Health Department said.

Tip Sempliner, an industrial designer who works out of his home on 233rd Street, said he received a letter from the city in the mail last week that included a $2,000 fine for not having an adequate amount of water near a beehive on his property.

Sempliner said he not only has a waterer near the hive, but his home sits on Little Neck Bay.

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“I was shocked to receive this notice,” he said. “I received a registered letter with a fee and an invitation to go to a hearing on Johns Street next month.”

Sempliner said the hive belongs to Jon Pettengill, a friend from Brooklyn who did not have room to store the 50,000 bees at his home.

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Pettengill could not be reached for comment.

But a spokeswoman for the city’s Health Department said the violation against Sempliner is being withdrawn and that the Douglaston resident should receive a confirmation in the mail.

She said fines would have been determined following a hearing. Sempliner could have been fined up to $2,000.

There are currently 59 beekeepers maintaining 89 hives across the five boroughs.

Beekeepers must register their hives with the city. A Health Department employee had been sent to inspect the hive on Sempliner’s property.

Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, said he believed the city should focus its resources on other matters.

“You can’t make this stuff up anymore,” he said. “The mayor obviously has a bee in his bonnet about this issue. I don’t think we should be wasting the city’s resources considering we’re in a fiscal crisis. I think we should prioritize and I don’t think sending inspectors out to see whether bees have water should be a priority.”

The councilman said the city inspector should have noticed the waterer next to the beehive.

“I’m not sure if the inspector went on the property,” he said. “Otherwise, he would have seen that [Sempliner] had a watering bowl and that the hive was a stone’s throw from the Sound. It’s not like the bees were hurting for water.” 


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