Members of the East River Co-op resident's Facebook group were left in disbelief on Saturday after a fellow neighbor posted a picture of two cow tongues nailed to a tree in Corlears Hook Park.
Theories were quickly developed to explain the incident, with many calling it a likely Santeria ritual. The disturbing act was reported to 311 and the local precinct, which may have led to their disappearance by Monday morning.
This is not the first time animal parts have been found mutilated in New York City. The Gothamist reported the same thing in 2015 after a reader sent in pictures of a single cow tongue punctured by needles in Prospect Park. A Wesleyan University professor specialized in African Diaspora spirituality commented that the ritual is meant to "instruct the spirits to stop someone from gossiping, from spreading harmful rumors or the like...or to stop a witness from testifying in court."
If that sounds like you, good luck this new year.