Feed Birds, Get Ticket

Yesterday, the Post had a story about woman being ticketed for "littering" when she was just feeding some birds birdseed. Yvette Bavier was at West 125th Street and Hancock Place when the police questioned her. After she replied that she was, you know, feeding the birds, it gets crazy:

Bavier claims the cops, both women, put her through a 20-minute ordeal while they searched through a manual trying to find a suitable rap to fit her aviary affront.

"It took them so long," recalled Bavier, who also feeds birds near her home off Central Park West. "They were looking up things. I don't think they knew what to write."

And then after giving her the ticket, the cops told her could probably fight the ticket in court and get it dismissed! And they say there's no such thing as ticket quotas, eh?

The NYPD told the Post that another resident complained about someone "attracting and endangering pigeons by feeding them raw rice." But did the cops check to see if Bavier's birdseed contained raw rice? We hope Bavier goes to court with a bag of birdseed.

Related: Someone told us they got a $115 ticket for double parking. Are tickets going up or is a $115 ticket just insane?

Photograph of bird on a chain by rockity_roll on Filckr

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts and Events on January 3, 2007 1:28 PM

Comments [rss]

rice and reams

Who knew it was so easy to piss off white people?

I think I'm bringing a bag of rice and birdseed to work tomorrow and scatter it all about the town.

Gotta feed the rats, too.

2 EZ.

daisy

Gee, I wish the city were a lot more agressive in ticketing folks who feed birds. I have an upstairs neigbors who dumps birdseed/rice/ whatever is handy out the window to feed the birds/rats etc. It is crazy not at all humane.

robin.g

#25 : Yes the one ticket was 6 points. It's the first speeding ticket I have gotten in 20 years. I was going 42 passing a dump truck (on a 2-lane road) in a 40MPH zone and when I went around the truck it was suddenly a 20MPH school zone. I entered the zone and got nabbed before I could slow down.

So yeah, I am not a speeder. AT ALL. And now I have to pay $600. I don't need to "lay off" the gas pedal.

glennQ

People who feed birds should get a fine IMO. Who wants any extra bird droppings? As soon as somebody's child gets a case of Bird Flu from all the droppings I'm sure the enforcement will step up dramatically.

kak

Robin, it says the fine only applies if you receive six points on your driver record during a period of 18 months. Or was that one ticket 6 points?

Maybe you should shave some points off your record by doing a defensive driving class.

And lay off the gas pedal.

duh

Heres a tip if you dont want a ridiculous fee. Don't litter. Don't double park. Don't break the god-damned law no matter how silly you think it is. These seemingly meaningless acts are painful because cumulatively they degrade quality of life for the rest of us. So stop being a jerk and stop crying when you lose police roulette and get caught commiting the crime. Jerky McJerk Jerk.

bobo

Double parked vehicles block fire trucks on a daily basis. What's even funnier (or sadder?) is when they actually park in front of the firehouse. Listen to a scanner - you'll hear the reports "were delayed due to double paarked cars" on a daily basis. Very sad. No consideration for anyone but themselves.

amanda

160 bucks for blocking a handicapped ramp! even if the sidewalk is littered and unaccessible to handicapped persons anyway!

bernie goetz

what about the alka seltzer tablets? looking for a solution.

The raw rice hurting birds thing is a total myth.

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/myths/myths.aspx

[13] Posted by: Andrew | January 3, 2007 2:16 PM

mocanlagunas

double parking is illegal for a reason, so pay the fine and "live and learn"... I saw a couple of days back a van parked in the middle of a street in Soho, while they were loading some boxes... some people are too stupid to have a license.

Now, about the bird feeding ticket it's ridiculous. Yes, they shit (it's called nature), but it seems a little draconian to me. There's a solution to control the pigeon population that involves a special place for the pigeons to live and where they remove their eggs and place fake eggs. It can also have a special area for "old people" to feed the birds...

Ugh

"Feeding sparrows and pigeons is a harmless activity that older people enjoy."

Wrong, it's a public health issue. Pigeons carry diseases, as do the rats that wait around for their scraps, and the copious amounts of poop they leave everywhere.

Old people might find it "calming and relaxing", but I'm sick of dodging swarms of pigeons in Police Plaza on my lunch break every time another lonely old person decides it's their "responsibility" to feed moldy bread and leftover chicken to those things. Gross, dude.

boo

if i'm paying 300 bucks per five seconds in stopped traffic in a taxi, damn well that double parking fine should be 115 bucks.

La Leone

Can the cops please spend some more time in Chinatown ticketing everyone that litters openly? People throw their garbage on the side walks and happily stuff trash into the sewers so that it can eventually wash up on beaches.

You see people littering CONSTANTLY. Attn: cops, please feel free to come here and meet your quota!

People who behave like animals need to be taught that littering is wrong.

People who feed pigeons are not doing anything wrong. (Assuming they are not poisoning them or something crazy like that.)

Feeding sparrows and pigeons is a harmless activity that older people enjoy. They find it calming and relaxing and it offers a sense of responsibility. And something to do whlepassing time in the park. Especially if they are elderly and alone.

And no, # 12, she's either White or Hispanic, just click on the article link. It's easy.

crowfoot

feed the cops crow!!!1

zeng

If the cops have a quota then they should try to fill it by ticketing their fellow cops and other city workers who illegally park their cars all over Chinatown and the adjacent courthouse area. I understand there are police and other city employee unions, but if the city is really that hurting for $$$.... Not to mention it's complete bs to think that one may flaunt traffic/parking laws just because one works for the city.

timbnyc

The rule for double-parking should be, whoever can move the car first gets to keep it.

Andrew

The raw rice hurting birds thing is a total myth.

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/myths/myths.aspx

gotta make da quota

Was the person black? How many white ladies get this ticket?

I'm guessing she is, if she's from Hancock place.

guess the cops gotta make their 2 C's a day quota.

Elderta

Wow, that Driver Responsibility Assessment thing is insane! If I read it correctly (please no puns about copyediting, who cares anymore), you have to pay the fine for THREE years ($100 per year), which can be paid all at once or within the first one to two years. I doubt if you could even argue that fee away. Eek!

robin.g

#6 : Yeah I found that when I first got the letter. I know it's a "real" fine, but I think it's a bullshit way to get money.

tixblix

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/parking/park_tickets_violations.shtml

fines went up on '03 and 115 is the cost of blocking traffic, emergency vehicles, and generally snarling up other people's commutes. This town has public transit and those who use vehicles either abide be the laws or get hit with the tix. I would rather the violator of a rule contribute to the city coffers to pay for road work and such then the law abiding public transit taker having to cough it up in taxes. As to the lady attracting winged vermin by feeding them, why the heck is she complaining? The cops were obviously doing their job because someone else complained (don't blame him/her) and taking pity on the woman advised her of the probability of the court warning rather then exacting a fine. Are we no down on the cops that when they are put an untenable place between two private parties that we ridicule them for trying to please both sides?

trying to drive

Double-parking should be $115 even if it's not the norm. I don't drive often in the city (because it's really not necessary), but when I do, I feel that double-parking causes obstacles that can make the road dangerous for everyone--drivers, pedestrians and cyclists--as it either blocks the roadway altogether or causes unnecessary merging of traffic. If you don't want a ticket for double-parking, then please park legally.

K

I hate people who double park, they deserve a $115 ticket.

jg

robin:

http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/drp.htm

shoot Gothamist

anyone who feeds birds should get dragged into the street and stomped on. I fucking hate birdshit.

Proofread please

what is with your copyediting?

Spam

If anyone wanted to feed birds, and make sure they weren't feeding pigeons or other non-native species, a simple way to do it is to just make sure you are only putting out whole sunflower seed in the shell....Pigeons, English Sparrows, and Starlings can't break the shell open, but native birds like Cardinals, Jays, and Woodpeckers can...

But nowadays you may run the risk of getting a ticket for littering..

robin.g

Has anyone ever gotten a speeding ticket and paid it, only to receive a letter from NYS DMV saying you owe ANOTHER fine due to a "Driver Responsibility Assessment?" I paid $300 for going too fast through a school zone, and last week I got my "Driver Responsibility Assessment" - another $300! Who has even heard of this? It sounds made up!

koch

thanks for the tip - raw rice, does it actually kill the pidgeons, or just f them up? in any case she should have been taken into custody instead martyred for feeding those flyng rats!