Residents act after man’s mass bird feedings leave town covered in feces
Michael Victor owns a boatyard in Hempstead, New York. His neighbors, Jeremy and Lara Sessler claim that every day Victor would take out wheelbarrows ofcornmeal and feed hundreds of birds. WCBS New York reports that because of this, the multitude of pigeons, geese, and swans would leave behind quite the mess. To counteract becoming known as the bird crap capital (crapital for short) of New York, the Hempstead Town Board unanimously passed a new law that will go after property owners who, “attract many bids with large amounts of food.”
“Extreme bird feeding,” (which is also the least popular X Games event), was becoming an issue worth the attention of local government, according to Supervisor Kate Murray. Newsday reports that before the vote was held, she told those assembled, “Overfeeding in residential neighborhoods and near waterways results in attracting huge numbers of 'nuisance birds' to areas where neighbors live, work and raise their families.”
Residents agree. Eric Schwartz told WCBS, “The feces that it generates was horrible.” The aforementioned Lara Sessler told the station, “It’s filthy. It’s all over our patio, our furniture, our vehicles.” Lara says that she and Jeremy tried talking to Victor, but didn’t get anywhere. Now they’ll have the law on their side. According to Newsday, Hempstead spokesman Mike Deery said fines can be as much as, “$1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second and $5,000 for the third.”
WCBS tried talking with Mr. Victor, but he declined to comment. They say that in the past he said he “rehabilitates birds and has been feeding them for 20 years, long before the houses around him were built.” The New York news channel also noted that town officials are still encouraging “casual bird feeding.”
