surprisedNY Newsday: This Tale No Croc
NY Post: GATOR GOTTEN IN QUEENS PARK
Quoting from the NY Times article:
A man walking his dog in a Queens park yesterday afternoon interrupted a cold-blooded sunbather. It was at least three feet long. It was scaly. It had olive and brown stripes. It had sharp teeth.
The man, Mike Georgatos, 53, called 911 to report an alligator on the loose.
"It took me three times before they believed me," Mr. Georgatos said. His home, at 73rd Avenue and 224th Street in Bayside, is across the street from a busy section in the southern part of Alley Pond Park, a recreation area in eastern Queens with ball fields and a paved jogging path. "The third time I said, `This is where it is. Now, I'm no longer responsible.' "
Parks officials think that the alligator was abandoned by an exotic pet owner. I have to wonder though who keeps alligators as pets in the city. Even stranger still, this isn't the first time a stray alligator has been found in NYC according to the news articles.