{"id":7898,"date":"2022-04-13T15:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T19:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtyhop.com\/blog\/?p=7898"},"modified":"2022-04-08T11:26:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T15:26:27","slug":"infamous-illegal-pets-from-nyc-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtyhop.com\/blog\/infamous-illegal-pets-from-nyc-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Infamous Illegal Pets from NYC History"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York City has <\/span>fairly strict laws<\/span><\/a> regarding the kinds of animals that may legally be kept within the five boroughs. However, these regulations have not stopped some of the more colorful personalities throughout the city\u2019s history from harboring an eclectic array of exotic critters. Most of these animals were ultimately seized by city authorities\u2014with some attaining near-celebrity status in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ming the Tiger<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
By HenryJonesnyc – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps the most famous of NYC\u2019s illegal pets was Ming the tiger, a <\/span>425-pound male Bengal-Siberian mix<\/span><\/a> discovered in Harlem\u2019s Drew-Hamilton Houses<\/a> in 2003. Ming was purchased by resident Antoine Yates, a self-professed animal lover, as an eight-week-old cub in 2001. With the apparent cooperation of his neighbors, Yates was able to keep Ming\u2019s existence within the public housing complex a secret from city officials for almost three years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth finally came to light after Yates was wounded during a brief tussle with Ming and his doctors tipped off authorities about Yates\u2019 suspicious injuries. The high-stakes rescue operation that ensued captured the public\u2019s imagination as officers drilled holes in Yates\u2019 door to confirm the presence of the tiger, <\/span>rappelled down the side of the building<\/span><\/a> to shoot a tranquilizer dart through the window, and eventually succeeded in liberating Ming from the apartment. Ming spent his final years at Noah’s Lost Ark Animal Sanctuary in Ohio, where he <\/span>died of natural causes<\/span><\/a> in 2019. Ming\u2019s remains were returned to New York and are interred at the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yates was arrested at a Philadelphia hospital on charges of reckless endangerment and possessing a wild animal and ultimately served three months in prison. He <\/span>fought for the return<\/span><\/a> of his former pet to the very end of Ming\u2019s life, referring to the tiger as his <\/span>\u201cbest friend.\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Goldfleck the Lion<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
By No photographer credited. – “Prominent People in Picture and Paragraph” New Broadway Magazine (May 1908): 244., Public Domain<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though he may not know it, Yates was far from the first to attempt keeping a member of the genus Panthera in the big city. Portrait artist and ex-princess Elisabeth Vilma Lwoff-Parlaghy arrived in New York city in the year 1908 and settled into a fourteen-room suite at the newly-built Plaza Hotel with her <\/span>already-impressive retinue of pets<\/span><\/a>: a Pomeranian, cat, guinea pig, owl, bear, and two small alligators. Lwoff-Parlaghy soon found another addition to her menagerie in the form of <\/span>Goldfleck<\/span><\/a>, a lion cub she obtained from the Ringling Brothers Circus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lwoff-Parlaghy doted on Goldfleck, bringing him for walks in Central Park and allowing him to sprawl out in her suite\u2019s massive bathtub. City living proved detrimental to the lion\u2019s health, however, and Goldfleck died a premature death in 1912. The former princess conducted an elaborate funeral ceremony for the deceased lion before <\/span>his burial<\/span><\/a> at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rabbit Lady of Gowanus<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Aswathy N<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rabbits, a favorite pet among city dwellers, are highly social animals that benefit from having others of their kind around to keep them company. This was the justification used by Gowanus resident Dorota Trec in 2<\/span>016 for maintaining a <\/span>colony of 176 rabbits<\/span><\/a> in a vacant lot in Brooklyn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gowanus\u2019 rabbit \u201cgarden\u201d began in 2012 outside the Mexico Tire Shop on Third Avenue and had grown to nearly two hundred strong by 2015. Trec, who happily claimed the title of <\/span>\u201crabbit girl,\u201d<\/span><\/a> felt a special connection to rabbits and decided to dedicate her life to creating a rabbit haven for area residents to enjoy. Instead, concerned neighbors called the authorities to report on the inhumane conditions they faced under Trec\u2019s care. With a severe winter storm closing in, city officials <\/span>seized her rabbits<\/span><\/a> in January 2015.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Trec was <\/span>convicted on 100 counts of animal cruelty<\/span><\/a>, sentenced to forty-five days in jail, and forced to register as an animal abuser with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She was also banned from owning animals for at least five years, much to her neighbors\u2019 relief.<\/span><\/p>\n

Animal Bust at Billionaire\u2019s Birthday Party<\/h2>\n

Photo by Javier Mazzeo<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Javier Mazzeo<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hedge fund billionaire <\/span>Philip Falcone<\/span><\/a> had big plans for his birthday party in 2012, including a lavish petting zoo of exotic animals. But when animal handler Nicholas Jacinto arrived at Falcone\u2019s $50 million townhouse on the Upper East Side with a <\/span>snake, sloth, lemur, and Brazilian aardvark in tow<\/span><\/a>, the festivities were quickly shut down by inspectors from the Health Department. While Falcone got off scot-free, Jacinto was ticketed for failing to obtain the proper permit to display the animals in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacinto received a similar ticket later the same year after illegally exhibiting a pair of kangaroos named Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman at a Christmas show at Brighton Beach\u2019s Millennium Theater. Apparently undeterred by these incidents, Jacinto continues to host exotic animal shows and events through a small business known as <\/span>\u201cNature Nick\u2019s Animal Adventures.\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A Knockoff Bronx Zoo<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Donna Yarbrough<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2018, following a tip from a concerned neighbor, police officers raided the Bronx\u2019s Adams Houses apartment and were startled to find a possum, two pigeons, a dove, a two-foot-long eel, and a pair of whopping 80-pound snapping turtles <\/span>living in a single one-bedroom apartment<\/span><\/a>. These creatures were the property of brothers Richie and Willie Rodriguez, ardent animal lovers who had owned at least one of the turtles for upwards of a decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Rodriguez brothers, along with Riche\u2019s wife Yesenia Crisostomo Diaz, were <\/span>given violations for possessing illegal wild animals<\/span><\/a> and charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child for exposing Richie\u2019s six-year-old daughter to their unlicensed menagerie. Richie Rodriguez mourned the loss of his apartment petting zoo\u2014especially the possum, which he had found injured at a nearby park and nursed back to health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Razzi the Runaway Zebra<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
By Charles J. Sharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In November 2012, Staten Island residents were treated to a strange sight: a <\/span>rogue zebra foal<\/span><\/a> was trotting freely down Victory Boulevard, chaperoned only by a fugitive pony. This four-month-old zebra, ironically named Paparazzi (or \u201cRazzi\u201d for short), belonged to a local named Giovanni Schirripa. Schirripa blamed Casper the pony for their illicit joyride, noting that the incident was Casper\u2019s <\/span>third escape attempt<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Razzi had apparently been acquired for an Octoberfest petting zoo to be held at the headquarters of the nearby Staten Island Boys Football League. Despite Schirrippa\u2019s assertion that he had acquired the necessary permits to allow him to keep the animal, the Health Department could not validate this claim. Schirrippa <\/span>quickly relocated Razzi<\/span><\/a> to a barn in New Jersey before an inspector could stop by his Staten Island residence, thus ending Razzi\u2019s brief stint as a New Yorker.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City has fairly strict laws regarding the kinds of animals that may legally be kept within the five boroughs. However, these regulations have not stopped some of the more colorful personalities throughout the city\u2019s history from harboring an eclectic array of exotic critters. Most of these animals were ultimately seized by city authorities\u2014with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":7904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nInfamous Illegal Pets from NYC History - RealtyHop Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realtyhop.com\/blog\/infamous-illegal-pets-from-nyc-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Infamous Illegal Pets from NYC History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York City has fairly strict laws regarding the kinds of animals that may legally be kept within the five boroughs. 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