Feeding pigeons isn't illegal in the city—at least outside of the parks (and even inside the law is not often enforced). However, a Coney Island woman—59-year-old Sabina Mickiewicz—is now on the verge of losing her home after her neighbors and landlord have had it with her giving the birds breadcrumbs.
According to the NY Post, Mickiewicz—who has an inoperable brain tumor—has hired a lawyer because her landlords are trying to evict her. They've taken her to Housing Court and say she's creating a "health and safety issue" for the entire apartment complex. They also claim she feeds opossums, squirrels and cats.
In 2008, a Queens man fought a fine from the city for feeding pigeons in his backyard. At the time, the city's lawyer said, "Clearly, people have bird feeders in their backyard. And that’s not a nuisance. However, when you start feeding in excess, so there’s a level of bird droppings that’s unhealthy, it rises to the level of nuisance." Earlier this year a woman had a "violent confrontation" with a neighbor over feeding pigeons; she declared: "people feeding birds are being victimized... It’s got to stop."
