My Sister and the Gangsta Squirrel 🐿️

Written by Dennis Harvell, contributor Tonia Durbin

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Tonia’s squirrel doesn’t just chase acorns — it patrols the Brooklyn stoop like a true guardian. Every leap feels like a reminder that even small creatures carry big Bronxlyn energy.

It was a June afternoon, the kind of day when the bench feels like a familiar friend. She sat there, bag at her side, usually stocked with peanuts for the squirrels. But this time, she had none.

That didn’t stop him. A squirrel jumped up on the bench, bold as ever, staring her down with those two beady eyes. He looked straight into the bag as if he already owned it, impatient, restless, and certain that food was hidden inside. Twice he went in, diving like a thief in broad daylight. At one point he nearly got tangled in the cord, but even that didn’t slow him down. He was aggressive, rude, and disrespectful — the kind of squirrel you only find in the hood.

And here’s the thing: squirrels know her. She’s friendly, trusting, the type who calls them by name. There was one in particular she had bonded with — gentle, never aggressive, always coming when called. But this was a different squirrel entirely, one with no manners and no patience. What happened to the friendly one? Who knows. Maybe foul play from other squirrels, maybe just the rough rules and rivalry of the Brooklyn and Bronx wildlife.

Brooklyn squirrels don’t just hustle on benches. They climb fences, scale trees, and pause in the middle of the street like they own the asphalt. Cars swerve, brakes screech, and the squirrel just stands there — daring the world to move him. Then, as if nothing happened, he strolls away cool as stone. They hoard dozens of acorns for the winter, yet they still want yours. That’s the Brooklyn squirrel mentality: never satisfied, always hustling, always ready to claim what isn’t theirs.

She laughed, shaking her head. “No discipline from his momma — straight up hood squirrel.” And in that moment, the Brooklyn had another legend and it wasn’t from The Bronx. Not a hero, but a hustler with paws, claiming her bag and the streets, as if nothing was going to stop his mission.