Italian wall lizards, Podarcis sicula and Podarcis murali were imported in the 60s and 70s as household pets. Lizards escaped into the nearby suburban neighborhoods.
One population originated in Garden City.
This all started when a small number of lizards were released from a pet shop just off Hempstead Turnpike in Garden City in 1966.
They had spread out in a semicircular pattern to about 1/4 mile from the original release site. Ten years later they had spread over 0.6 mile around the release site, and by the early 1990s they were seen as much as 11/2 miles from the original release site.
They make use of LIRR and power line and right of ways .
There are also people who deliberately release them into places, like NY Botanical Gardens and Planting Fields.
Our genetic work shows that our population originated from the vicinity of Rome. They avoid freezing by going deep underground