April 29, 2008
East Side Chicken Coop Uncovered
It's not uncommon to hear about animals being housed in New York apartments -- not just cats and dogs, but tigers and monkeys, oh my. The latest animal house can be found in a 50-story luxury condo complex on the East Side.
The NY Post reports on a building super named John Hyranyaz who's been mail-ordering baby chicks and, allegedly, holding them at 100 United Nations Plaza.
The animals stay put in their makeshift, subterranean pen of plywood and duct tape - unbeknownst to many tenants, who can shell out millions for their pads above - until Hyranyaz transports them to his farm in upstate Binghamton.He claims he's also housed bunnies, geese and a cat (that was stolen). The question being raised is if he actually takes them to his farm, or if they live in luxury with the rest of the residents for an extended period of time. Either way, it isn't illegal, says a Dept. of Health spokewoman; if they were roosters, however, that'd be a different story. Still, residents are speechless at their newly outed subterranean farm, one commenting, "I'm speechless. My God, I don't know what to say." Perhaps Hyranyaz is just one of the urban farming pioneers amongst us."I'm raising chickens because I plan to retire," the unabashed super told The Post yesterday. "The Post Office sends the chicks here. These are mail-order chicks."
Chinatown chicks via fenix_21's flickr.
|
Advertisement: Gothamist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
So what? It's legal, it says so right there in the article.
Mail-order chickens, what's next? Mail-order cows? This shocking attempt at agribusiness in a luxury building must be thoroughly investigated. Placing wealthy tennants at risk for possible exposure to animals and animal feces is beyond comprehension. This man is a menace.
i used to live next to the super in another building about 20 years ago. that super had 2 hunting rifles and 3 revolvers in his apt. he would go hunting deer in upstate and bring the dead deer back to the building's basement and hang them up and skin them... and then his wife would make venison stew and i would have some.
this is a true story.
Mail order chicks have been around for a long time. I have an elderly friend who has told me that back in the 1930's when he was a kid, he lived in a rural area, and his family would order chicks from Sears-Roebuck. The postman would deliver the live baby chicks to their door in wooden crates.
I found that fascinating. I didn't know they still sold wholesale chicks via mail.