PEEKSKILL, N.Y. -- While politicians in Washington debate birth control, one Peekskill resident is crying fowl over proposed city bird control.
At last month's meeting between the Peekskill Common Council and the Peekskill Board of Education the two boards agreed that flocks of Canada geese - and the droppings they leave - make it difficult to use city and school athletic fields such as the field in Depew Park used by the high school football team.
But George Ondek, a longtime city resident and cable access show host, believes the boards are misguided in their attempts.
"I'm for the birds," said George Ondek, as he fed birds bread at Riverfront Green Park Wednesday afternoon.
Ondek, a retired Vietnam War veteran who has also been a vocal critic of city tax increases, said plans to control the goose population are cruel and unwanted by many residents, including he and his wife who come to see the geese every day.
The city and school district have considered using tarps to cover the fields when not in use and putting fencing up around the fields. Other more complicated methods, such as egg addling or using sprays to discourage them from fields, were also discussed.
City officials noted that all of those solutions are expensive and not always successful. The city has yet to make any decisions on how to handle the goose problem.
Nearly extinct in the early 1900s, geese have become problematic in some areas of the United States, where the birds spend the winter due to their elevated numbers. Geese have become such an issue that hunting is now allowed in many states including New York during the fall and early winter.
The city should simply continue to clean up after the birds as it has been doing, Ondek said.
"Why isn't the parks department of Peekskill doing its job cleaning the goose droppings and cleaning up this park?" said Ondek. "There'll be plenty of money left over in the DPW budget because there's been very little snow this year."
But Peekskill Parks and Recreation Supervisor Joyce Cuccia said rising number of birds has left the city outmatched.
"Over the years they've grown in numbers and it's leaving the fields a mess," Cuccia said.
The city has a street sweeper it can use to help clean up paved areas and the city's animal control officer has a border collie that chases the birds away, but it just isn't enough, she said.
"Their sheer numbers makes it an ongoing daily dilemma for us - it's a 24/7 issue," Cuccia said.
Ondek is also angry that the city is cracking down on people feeding the birds bread and other things, but Cuccia said there have been signs in Depew Park for a long time warning visitors not to do so and the feedings only makes the matter worse.
But Ondek believes the geese are a part of the community and hopes the city leaves them alone.
"Sure they leave some droppings, but when I get them on my shoe I just rub them off," Ondek said. "What the big deal? The waterfowl was here before we were. Who are we to say they should be limited or killed?"
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