Bees in Times Square take over hot dog stand

Times Square was abuzz Tuesday afternoon after a swarm of bees commandeered a hot dog stand in the tourist hot spot.

The NYPD closed off an area at 43rd Street surrounding a mobile hot dog cart that was covered in thousands of bees. Curious tourists and bystanders kept their distance as Officer and Bee Keeper Michael Lauriano, equipped with a protective suit and helmet, vacuumed the insects off the stand’s umbrella.

Wallis Elfaramawy, 38, was working at another cart nearby and said he tried to shoo away the bees by using the smoke from his cart.

“I had a lot of customers and I justed wanted to make my customers and the area be secure,” he said.

The NYPD did not have immediate information as to how the bees arrived in Times Square, but did say there were no reported injuries. The swarm will be released into a hive on Long Island, according to the Twitter account for the department’s bee keeper.

A spokesman for the Times Square Alliance, the nonprofit group that maintains the area, did not provide comment other than saying earlier in the day that it was “looking into” the incident.

With Nalea J. Ko