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Painted turtle angers B'klyn neighborhood

By David Freedlander | dfreedlander@am-ny.com

8:29 PM EDT, May 5, 2008

'Myrtle' the turtle, a neighborhood fixture in Williamsburg, was discovered painted in the same color as is used at a nearby construction site. (Photo courtesy Gowanus Lounge blog, www.gowanuslounge.com / May 5, 2008)

A box turtle that has for years crawled through backyards in Williamsburg was discovered last week painted a sickly orange, with neighbors blaming construction workers next door with ample time and spray paint on their hands.

Photos of the poor turtle, known as Myrtle, in her new Technicolor shell were first posted on the blog The Gowanus Lounge, and caused a cascade of vitriol on the site.

"Whoever did this should rot in hell," wrote one commenter. "We live in a world of sociopaths," commented another.

Myrtle the Turtle was discovered painted orange in a backyard next to a development that has long been an irritant to longtime residents. They have complained of demolition work, cracks appearing in the walls of their homes, and ripped out phone and cable lines.

The developer of the residential project at 5 Roebling Street, Shlomo Karpen, could not be reached for comment.

The owner of the building next to the development has for years been keeping turtles in her backyard. Meredith Chesney, who lives there, says the practice is something of a neighborhood folk custom.

She said she believed that the turtle escaped through a hole in the fence left by the construction work and wondered onto the site.

Many in the neighborhood said they thought that the appearance of a traffic cone-colored terrapin symbolized all that had gone wrong with their area.

"It's like Williamsburg has ever been full of natural beauty, but eventually you're able to see beauty in the ugliness," said Judy McGuire, who had lived in the area for 12 years and started noticing Myrtle a few springs ago. "But we have these little tiny bits of nature and beauty that just keep on being run over and destroyed and hurt. It's really disheartening."

Robert Guskind, who founded the Gowanus Lounge and has been following real estate for years, said he thought the case of Myrtle was one of the most appalling development stories he'd heard.

"I've probably done a thousand posts about illegal construction and buildings violating regulations with impunity but this probably ticked me off more than anything," he said. "In the grand scheme I know it's just symbolic, but it really made my blood boil. Even a little turtle can't escape the awful things being done to the city."

The turtle has since been returned to the wilds of its Brooklyn backyard. Chesney tried to clean her up, without much success.

Kami Race, who runs a private wildlife rehabilitation center upstate specializing in turtle rescue, said she thought that the best thing for Myrtle now was just to be left alone.

"They have lasted from the time of the dinosaurs for a reason," she said. "They're pretty tough customers."