De Blasio 'Concerned' With Bird Feeding Ban In NYC Parks

NEW YORK, NY — Birders and animal enthusiasts worried about a Parks Department rule change to prohibit wildlife feeding in New York City's parks may find an unexpected ally in Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The New York City mayor seemed unaware of a planned ruled change to crack down on feeding animals in city parks, but added that he is "concerned" about negative effects of the policy during his weekly "ask the mayor" segment on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show.

De Blasio declared his consternation after an impassioned line of questioning from a Bronx resident named Lucia Maria. Maria said that her group, Bronx Animal Rights Electors, delivered a petition with 4,000 signatures opposing the rule change at a March 1 public hearing held by the Parks Department.

Maria said that the rule change would disproportionately affect elderly and undocumented New Yorkers while and said that most people who regularly feed wildlife in city parks know how to do so in ways that are not harmful to animals and that do not leave parks strewn with litter.

De Blasio admitted that he needs to familiarize himself with the proposed rule change, but said that he was swayed by Maria's passionate defence of wildlife feeding.

"You’re passionate on this issue and you’re really making very powerful arguments. Brian, I like to be straightforward, I run a vast, vast government, and that doesn’t mean that every proposal put forward by an agency I’m familiar with the details of. This is one I want to get much more familiar with – I’m concerned," de Blaiso said during the radio segment.

Current rules prohibit feeding of most wildlife, but make an exception for birds and squirrels. People who violate the rules are subject to a $50 fine, but parks officials usually opt to educate violators on proper park behavior instead of utilize the fine as a punishment Parks Department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor told Patch in February.

Parks officials claim that by bird and squirrel feeding in city parks will help control the rat population as well as cut down on potentially negative interactions between humans and wildlife, disruptions to the healthy balance between wildlife and their habitat and the potential for disease spreading at busy feeding sites

Nearly all of the 89 comments on the city's rule change website voice strong opposition to the feeding ban. Many commenters said that allowing people to eat and cook in city parks, not animal feeding, has created healthy conditions for the rat population. Opponents of the rule change also said that birders and squirrel feeders know what types of food are healthy for the animals and that the activity connects people with nature.

"This rule would stop people from engaging in an experience that is educational and serves to enhance their lives. I have observed from daily visits to Madison Square Park that people who are feeding the wildlife are very much aware of the proper foods to feed them," a commenter named Sarah Katz wrote.

The city stopped accepting comments following a March 1 public hearing on the rule.