Raccoon Seeks Refuge from Sandy in Queens Library

Mr. Rocky Books is among the many Queens residents who turned to the borough's public libraries for a safe, warm place during and after the storm

A clever raccoon sought shelter from Sandy in the atrium of Queens Library's Baisley Park branch.

The masked intruder was found curled up under a shrub when neighborhood volunteers arrived to clean up after the storm and quickly became the darling of the library.

Children who visit the library fondly named him Mr. Rocky Books. They feed him, made him a house and read to him through the window glass, the library said.

Mr. Rocky Books is among the many Queens residents who turned to the borough's public libraries for a safe, warm place during and after the storm. The Mobile Library, parked in the Rockaways, provided heat and light to those without, and the Far Rockaway branch opened to provide emergency supplies to the community, as well as information on applying for grants and resources.

As for Mr. Rocky Books' future, he is temporarily snug in the library's atrium, a glass "donut hole" with a small garden in the middle of the building that's accessible to staff who are refilling his food and water. 

Since he is a wild animal, library officials say they assume he will shuffle off the way he came as soon as the weather improves. For now, staff and visitors alike are happy him as a guest, the library said.
 

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