Nov. 25, 2013 By Christian Murray
One man thought there was a monkey on the roof of the stairs leading up to the 52nd train station in Woodside.
Another thought he was in the middle of the Amazon rain forest, as he heard lots of loud birds chirping.
These thoughts came to mind last week when a pigeon mitigation system was installed at the 52nd Street station to ward off pigeons. Some pedestrians actually looked for birds and exotic animals when they went up the stairs–not realizing the sounds were coming out of speakers. Children were especially confused.
The 52nd Street station has had a chronic pigeon problem for years and the implementation of the owl/bird sounds is just one of the many mechanisms that have been put in place to combat the problem. The funding to get rid of the pigeons came from Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s office.
Julie Vinasco, from Woodside, didn’t know what to make of the loud noise originally but said that she was an advocate for it. “I hope it works,” she said, adding that the pigeon problem has always been a big concern of hers.
Meanwhile, John Perafan, who wondered what was causing the noise, laughed when he realized it was coming from the speakers.
The sounds could be heard from 51st Street and 43rd Avenue—a couple of blocks from the station.
Van Bramer said the sounds were just one way to get rid of the pesky birds. “If they are too loud, I’m sure they can adjust the volume but I haven’t heard any complaints about them.”
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32 Comments
if it can be heard on 51st and 43rd Ave…then it’s too loud!!!….you’re never gonna get rid of the pigeons….better men have tried.
That crazy guy who used to post on here all the anti-dog stuff used to have a pet pigeon.
BOOKSTORE!!!!
Where are the police? Let’s arrest a few of these winged rats and maybe they’ll get the hint. And another thing: who’s gonna ummm…ahhh…oh yeah who’s gonna get rid of all the annoying people who post idiotic comments on this site? Including ME!!!
How about some good ol’ fashioned POISON. you tree hugging hippies want to play music for these rats with wings? The most ridiculous thing I’ve read all week.
They are pests treat them as such and focus your funding on HUMANS.
Simple solution would be to charge a five cent deposit on the pigeons like they do cans and bottles. There would be no pigeons within five miles of here in less then a week.
From what I read, it’s the mentally ill and/or the elderly who are the ones who are feeding these pigeons. As has been noted before, feeding the birds isn’t illegal. Put them in jail or fine them $400? You want the police to stake these locations out and arrest the old ladies with the shopping carts when they scatter bird seed (presumably purchased locally)? Then they are supposed to come up with this huge cash penalty or you’re going to send them into the general prison population? I’ve heard certain crimes can make you very unpopular with the other prisoners. I wonder where this crime falls?
Well that explains it. I kept looking for birds the times I passed by there and heard it.
@angela That’s actually not true its just a rumor that gets around for pigeon removal.
Why not figure out a way to also stop people from feeding them? This problem is the whole reason there are rules for not feeding birds in every park. Maybe reinforce the fine and/or raise it? Have an MTA worker keep a look out for anyone feeding the birds over there?
As a person who grew up here, I don’t feel like the squirrel, raccoon or opossum population has changed since I was a little kid. The reason for the cat over population is based solely on the ignorance of humans beings who sre too lazy to spay / neuter their cats, and people ‘disposing’ their domestic cats to the streets when they don’t want them any more. With the increase of many local groups who do TNR, the cat population has already started to decline. Feeding a stray or feral cat has nothing to do with it’s population. The cats have helped with the rat & mice infestation. As a kid, I would lie in bed almost every night & we would hear the cats mating & fighting in our backyard. Now, I might hear it maybe 8 times per year.
Dorothy – gee…thanks for reminding me of the community board & their function…
We will never get rid of the pigeons. You can cut the population a bit. They will always find a home. They are here to stay. And apparently so is this new mitigation system. I live nowhere near it, so I could care less. If the noise is too loud, then as JVB said, maybe they can adjust the volume, but then doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the mitigation system, if the pigeons can hardly hear it…
oh yeah, and that “tombstone” sitting in front of Wendys marking the old boxing arena…. did they purchase it from one of the nearby tombstone cutters? looks like someone is buried at Wendys
im sure the same group of geniuses approved the so called art exercise equipment under the 40th st subway and who restored the Sunnyside Arch with neon bulbs in it so it looks a Vegas hooker could be strolling under it. I understand they are trying to improve our lives but there seems to be no sense of what looks good and refined. The people have no aesthetic eye.
pigeons dont have ears!
Just stop feeding these things.
What is so complicated about this?
A strictly enforced $400 fine and and a week in jail does the trick.
Human feeding is directly correlated with the increase of pigeon, rat, cat and squirrel population.
i was told feed them rice — this sounds cruel but when they eat the rice and fly they will blow up
Beats pigeon shit.
What happened to the scoop nets of some years back.
How many pigeons did they take away with that method ???
I agree that there are more important problems but pigeons and their droppings are a quality of life issue that affects many people on a daily basis. The community board has received many complaints about them and is required to address the issue.
“When you make a priority list, the pigeon problem is towards the bottom.”
Your answer is in the fact that it is a problem, they believe, can be solved, while the others are a little trickier. I don’t think this glorified boombox is the solution to the pigeon problem, since they still seem to be hanging around, but it seems like something could be done to make it less comfortable for pigeons. Putting an end to mugging and murder is a bit tougher.
Who gives a S#@T (pun intended) about the pigeons when we have regular civilians being killed while walking the streets late at night, or the homeless guy that was beat up & left for dead (and he died), or the neighborhood burglaries or the car thefts? When you make a priority list, the pigeon problem is towards the bottom.
“How about repeatedly ticketing the numerous mentally ill people in the neighborhood that feed them?”
Seriously. What is with that gigantic shirtless man who pours out bags of Wonder Bread in the park? I was honestly about to call the cops on him once, but a pigeon shat on my head!
How about repeatedly ticketing the numerous mentally ill people in the neighborhood that feed them?
Pigeons are amazingly resilient. They will quickly become accustomed to the sounds and will continue to roost where they can find food and shelter. There are only three ways to reduce the pigeon population: (1) remove their eggs and replace them with fake ones. As long as there is an egg in the nest they will not lay another one and will skip the breeding cycle; (2) feed them with seeds containing birth control medication; (3) bring in raptors to prey on them (a peregrine falcon or red-tailed hawk can eat a pigeon a day). There are drawbacks to each method. #1 is labor intensive. #2 could reduce the number of songbirds if they couldn’t be segregated from the pigeons, and #3 is pretty gory (however, the pigeons will disperse after one or two attacks).
“How do we get guys to stop pissing on the platform?”
Maybe we could install some big-screen TVs all over the platform with videos of guys pissing everywhere. That’ll drive them away, right?
What does the pigeon say?
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
How do we get guys to stop pissing on the platform?
I walked by there the other day and couldn’t decide if someone had a pet monkey up there or if a parrot had started too roost in the rafters. It was a remarkable sound, but not an annoying sound. As I passed by I thought, “Wow, that thing sounds big.” I hope the pigeons think the same thing.
“I’ve got a better idea. Give Sunnysiders an ‘open hunting season’ and let us take care of the problem. New York’s laws are too restrictive to properly take care of threats.”
Where in the country can you hunt on a street or within 25 feet of buildings? To seriously wish you could hunt pigeons on the street in Queens is insane. You realize you’re insane, right?
Um, there are still plenty of pigeons visibly sleeping or perched on the rafters. They don’t give a damn about the noise. Time to end this madness!
The noise is unbelievable. Also: still a lot of garbage dumping at 52nd Street subway – illegal dumping.
I hope everybody who couldn’t stand the pigeons are happy with the new mitigation system.
well gee the birds have to live somewhere….better then listening to people fighting and hurting each other…
I’ve got a better idea. Give Sunnysiders an “open hunting season” and let us take care of the problem.
New York’s laws are too restrictive to properly take care of threats.