The raccoon who became a Brooklyn subway station's mascot has been liberated from the mass transit system and released into the wild... or the 526 acres of Prospect Park.
Police told The City that the Elusive Nevins Street Raccoon™, who had been spotted in the station since November and was nicknamed "Chepe" by the NYPD and MTA, was captured on Sunday "after walking into a cage in the station." A subway rider, Lae-Tisha Forde, spotted the Trash Panda Extraordinaire on Sunday and alerted the MTA:
An officer lamented, "Chepe, he was my friend! I miss him already."
Apparently there were at least 87 raccoon-related subway delays in 2019, up from 18 reported disruptions in 2018.
It's unclear what kind of feast enticed The Raccoon to enter the Freedom Cage, but he did turn down a meal of chicken, plantains, and bagels last week.
Seth Gross, who spotted the raccoon on December 26th, said at the time, "I saw the raccoon from the train and actually said out loud, ‘Hey do you people see that there's a raccoon on the subway platform?’ Everyone ignored me as that's what you expect in New York." He had hoped the raccoon could find a new home, "I felt sad that it has to live in the subway... It seemed like no place for a raccoon."
Seems like Chepe Nevins is starting the year off right; as Fordetold The City, "It’s better off in the park."
Or is he?
