New York minds its bees-ness
Urban beekeepers in New York City no longer have to keep the honey of their labors a secret. The city’s health board voted in March to overturn a longtime ban on beekeeping within city limits, which had been put in place because the bees were considered hazardous, according to the Associated Press (AP). However, the ban was little-known and lightly enforced, and some New Yorkers have secretly tended hives on rooftops and gardens for years.
The movement to end the ban picked up after first lady Michelle Obama had a hive installed on the South Lawn of the White House. “The bees are a great way to start [a conversation about returning organic agriculture to cities],” said David Vigil, a coordinator at the urban agriculture group East New York Farms!, which conducts seminars on beekeeping and has two hives at its youth garden in Brooklyn. “There are very few instances of people being stung.” The city lifted the ban only for the honey-producing Apis mellifera. Wasps, hornets and other types of stinging insects are still banned.
