Citizen
A snake turned up at an Upper West Side construction site on Tuesday morning and wedged itself inside a scaffolding pipe, and it took the NYPD to get it out.
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The odd encounter played out on West 95th Street, where construction superintendent Pier Bueno spotted the reptile as he approached the worksite he supervises, NBC New York reported. “I have come across with some other rodents — raccoons and rats and stuff. But never a snake,” Bueno said. “It was pretty scary. Especially when I saw the officer try to take the snake out of the piping.”The scene was first captured on the Citizen App, where video showed the snake under a mesh covering before it worked its way into the scaffolding pipe. A 911 call came in just before 9:30 a.m.
Officers from the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit — the specialized cops who handle everything from hostage situations to people stuck on ledges — were sent to deal with the unusual guest. To coax the snake out of its hiding spot, they used water and banged on the scaffold until the reptile emerged, then secured it in a cloth bag.
There was a good reason the snake had tucked itself into a pipe in the first place. The Animal Care Centers of New York City identified it as a water snake and said it appeared to be molting, or shedding its skin. Snakes are known to rub against rough surfaces and hide while they shed, which would explain the appeal of a snug metal pipe.
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The rescue ended without injury to the workers or the snake. How it ended up on a Manhattan sidewalk in the first place remains a mystery, but the story has a happy ending: the ACC has named the snake Pillow and is looking to place it in a new home outside the city.Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
