Bees Buzz Boro; Honey Lovers Unite
By Jason Banrey
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| Michael Kurtz of Long Island City unveils his sweet creation, Mike’s Hot Honey to visitors while a bee enthusiast prepares a super for honey extraction. Photos by Jason Banrey
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Over the last year, honey bees have been all the buzz in New York City.
After the city lifted a ban on beekeeping last year, the hobby has seen a sudden spurt in interest from many borough residents.
From Long Island City all the way to Douglaston, bee hives have begun to pop up, giving a once-hidden hobby the publicity many beekeepers feel was long overdue.
On Sept. 17, Queens hosted the City’s first-ever annual Honey Festival. The daylong event was organized by the Brooklyn Grange of Long Island City in celebration of the city’s first full year of legal beekeeping.
Sharing their sweet rewards, New York City beekeepers educated visitors about beekeeping through various workshops, lectures and discussions in hopes of dispelling the negative myths associated with bees while teaching the public about how beneficial the bugs are to the environment.
According to organizers, more than 1,000 visitors attended the event in the Rockaways for the celebration, which ended in a Southern-inspired supper which featured honey fried chicken, blue corn bread and honey baked beans.
“The fact that we’ve seen this type of turnout can only be a benefit for beekeeping in the City,” said Chase Emmons, one of the event’s organizers and the official beekeeper of Brooklyn Grange’s rooftop farm. “Bee keeping is becoming the hottest thing since it was legalized.”
Borough beekeepers were on hand selling their sweet nectar to visitors curious about the buzzing beachside boardwalk event.
“Having a healthy hive is what drives me,” said Ralph Gaeta of Astoria, who has been keeping honey bees for more than four years and was sharing a portion of the 60 pounds in honey his hive produced this season.
Passionate about providing his honey bees with a home, Gaeta admits it is not always easy keeping all three of his hives but “once you get rocking and rolling, it’s hard to stop.”
“There’s an excitement I get after opening up my [apiaries],” Gaeta said. “I could sit there and watch my hives all day. There are so many patterns and colors that it has become a calming thing for me.”
Early this summer, Don Teahan of the Rockaways became curious about the odd hobby after finding a beehive in a folded up beach chair in his back yard.
Shuffling through brochures looking for equipment to create his own apiary, Teahan spoke to beekeepers about advantages of having a hive.
Besides honey, he learned he could help pollinate his community just by keeping one hive in his hood.
Although Teahan says he is not looking forward to getting stung, he walked away from the annual event with hopes his hive’s efforts will help locally.
“Beekeeping is important for the sake of our environment,” Teahan said.
“Hopefully my hive will help pollinate our neighborhood after I start it up next year.”
Reach Reporter Jason Banrey at jbanrey@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128.