Plant Poachers in Park Slope

Last spring, Robert Olson was caught by surprise when around 7 p.m., a man with a hand truck pulled up to his neighbor's home on 11th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues and proceeded to walk away with a nine-foot potted tree plucked from the home's entryway.

Olson, 45, who has lived in Park Slope his whole life, did the only thing he could think of: he ran after the thief, confronted him, and successfully returned the tree to its rightful owner.

This, however, was not Olson's first encounter with plant poachers. He recalls countless stories of his wife's potted plants being stolen from the yard, impatiens and small azaleas dug up from the ground. Another neighbor had pansies stolen this summer.

Still another Park Slope resident who asked to be identified only as Carolyn, lives on Sixth Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues and reports similar problems: she said plant theft is now so common, she now only gardens with inexpensive, un-showy plants.

"You try and do the best to beautify your property and then somebody goes and ruins, it," said Olson. "Sometimes its kids, other times its people wanting to be thieves."

Olson, for his part, has not called the police about these matters. In fact, while a Brooklynian thread on the subject of plant thievery attracted 30 replies, the NYPD has recorded very few incidents at all.

Olson said he hasn't reported the incidents because, "what are they going to do?"

Still, Deputy Inspector John A. Argenziano insists that Park Slope residents should always report crime, even ones as minor as the theft of a hosta or a crocus.  

"We always want to know every theft. All crime should be reported," said Argenziano.

"We could have locked this guy up for petit larson," he said of the tree thief.

Olson suggests another method of solving the problem: "People need to start watching out for their neighbors."