The city wants to outlaw feeding some classic New Yorkers — pigeons and squirrels — and animal lovers ಌsay it’s totally nuts.
The city Parks Department already fines people $50 for feeding wildlife in parks, but it made an exception for birds and squ♑irrels.
Now it’s now pushing a propose🍌d new rule that would ban feeding them, too, a spokeswoman said Friday.
Officials say that giving the crittersღ grub makes them “aggressive” and ends up filling the bellies of pesky rats and garbage-scavenging raccoons.
But the planned ban is outrageous in natureಌ-starved New York City, critics said.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Nahshon Thomas, 64, who teaches chess in Washington Square Park. “People have been feeding the squirrels and the pigeons for years. It keeps the park nice, the kids can see the animals. The squirrels rely on these people.”
Nature buffs aᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚre circulating a 4,450-signature-strong . And earlier this week, roug🉐hly 30 people gathered at a demonstration to protest the plan — complete with signs screaming, “Squirrels are New Yorkers, too!”
Some activists said the animals need help finding food because fruit-bearing trees were recently removed from several city parks, making it tougher for them to surviv൲e.
“Many of the parks no longer have the habitat because they have new trees that have been planted in some of the designer parks – they don’t support this wildlife. And most of those that regularly come to feed the squirrels, they know the proper food,” Lꦛucia Maria of the Bronx Animal Rights Electors told Mayor de Blasio on WNYC radio Friday.
Mayor de Blasio said the caller made some good points and that he planned to investigate the proposal further.
Feeding the ♌animals may actually keep them away from trash cans, others s✤aid.
And “I don’t think it’s causing a rat problem,” said Lisa Herschel, 53, of Stuyvesant Town, which was considering a private ꧋ban on feeding birds and squirrels earlier this year.
“I’ve liܫved here five years. I’ve never seen a rat in Stuy Town.”
Melissa Oliver, who 𒊎also lives in the area, added♋, “We had an incident where a little girl got attacked by a squirrel…But I don’t think the ban will do anything.”
But another park-goer disagreed, saying, “I have mixed feelings. … If you leave food out for the birds and squirrels, it also leave food out for the rats. And I hate the rats.”
🎶The Parks proposal, which was unveiled in late February and is now under review, won’t require a City Council vote, just a Law Department review.
Parks officials, “expect that tꦚhe change will go into effect by this summer,” a spokeswoman for the department said.
She added, “Under the proposed rule change, we will have the ability to make some exceptions, like permitꦕted bird feeders or allowing authorized wildlife rehabilitators to use food in rescues,”
In addition to the $50𝐆 fine, rule-breakers face🍌 the possibility of a day in jail or additional fine up to $200.
Additional reporting by Ruthie Weissmann