NEW YORK, May 6 (UPI) -- Residents of a New York neighborhood say a box turtle that has long roamed through their yards was painted orange by construction workers.

Neighbors in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York's Brooklyn borough said the turtle, named Myrtle, was found spray-painted orange in a backyard adjacent to a development, New York Newsday reported Tuesday.

Residents blamed the painting on construction workers at the development.

Meredith Chesney, a resident of the building next to the development, said the turtle is believed to have wandered into the construction site through a hole in the fence. She and others said the painting of the turtle was only the latest in a string of problems springing from the development.

"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, a 12-year resident of the neighborhood. "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."