Owen Ellis

My old head Red Hook roommate knew a local beekeeper who kept their hives near the maraschino cherry factory by Valentino park. One year their bees and honey started turning bright red, tasting weird and no one could figure out why. Eventually they realized the bees were getting into syrup waste that oozed into the street from the cherry factory, so they tested the honey which came back full of Red #40, the same dye used in maraschino cherries They filed an environmental complaint which kicked off more scrutiny of the factory, and when investigators searched the place they discovered a huge illegal weed grow beneath it. The owner (known as the “Cherry King”) shot himself when nypd confronted him during the raid. There’s still red goo that oozes out from under the roll-up gates