The scene in the East Village this afternoon looked a lot like this one, from The Wicker Man. Traffic was at a virtual standstill as police worked to contain the massive beehive in a tree at Bowery and First. At least a dozen people filmed alongside me, plenty of more snapped pictures and even more passersby inquired what the hell was going on to the bystanders. One woman thought the building was being robbed. There was little to no buzzing heard.

Fellow Gawker writer Maureen gives this account:

I was dimly aware that [co-workers] Rich and Leah were going to report on some sort of bee incident when I left 210 Elizabeth and headed up Bowery to go to an unrelated meeting. Walking along the east side of the road, I came upon an area of the sidewalk cordoned off with CAUTION tape. There were two cop cars and an emergency vehicle maneuvering nearby; I thought the vehicle was driving away. Since nothing was happening inside the CAUTION tape area, I figured the problem had already been solved (maybe an ailing person was being taken to a hospital or something?) so I attempted to duck between the taped-off area and one of the cop cars, but then a short female cop shouted at me and looked and me like I was crazy, and a bystander said, "BEES," and I realized this was the killer bee swarm Rich and Leah were seeking, and that I had almost walked into it, because it was strangely quiet. I then said goodbye to Rich and went to my meeting, which went just fine and was not disturbed by the bees.

I mouthed to Leah, who was standing about 100 feet away because she is allergic to bees, "This is boring," midway through the filming of this video. Nonetheless, please enjoy some exclusive on-site footage of the attack.

Also, actor Jude Law, who was seen near the swarm, appeared unharmed.