Are Soho Residents Bothered by PETA Protesters at Canada Goose?

SOHO, NY — On Monday, the New York Post wrote that Soho residents are reportedly "bothered" by the protesters outside the Canada Goose shop at 101 Wooster St. between Prince and Spring streets. The protesters, many from the animal rights group PETA, have been there since the Canadian company opened its flagship U.S. store there last month.

PETA protesters decry Canada Goose's use of steel traps to snare coyotes, who can be trapped for days before they are caught and killed for their fur, which is used to trim many Canada Goose coats. PETA also says that Canada Goose "stuffs its jackets with the down of geese and ducks who spend their lives in crowded, filthy sheds before being violently killed for their feathers and flesh."

The jackets cost up to $1,500.

An unnamed "resident" told the Post that “People who live and work there can’t stand it. Their signs are grotesque . . . They show animals being flayed alive. And their chants always have ‘f - - k’ in them.”

Other Soho residents, however, have slightly different sensibilities; they're more offended by the company's reported torture of animals than by indecorous language of protesters.

Jules Nelkin, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1984, was sitting across from the Canada Goose store on Tuesday around 3 p.m., accompanied by three women, all of whom had lived in the neighborhood for "30 years." Nelkin was appreciative of the protesters.

One of Nelkin's companions, a young woman, said that she could hear the protests from her bedroom but that she liked it.

"We love it because we're animal lovers," another of the women said, stroking her dog Molly's head.

"No one likes the noise," Nelkin clarified. "We like the cause."

"If they're torturing animals, you gotta disturb people," the woman explained. "It could be Molly in excruciating pain. I like the noise because I know people are going to talk about the issues, like we are right now."

"A quiet protest could be nice though," another woman countered.

By 3:30 p.m., there were still no protesters in sight; the barricaded area set up outside the store remained empty, and two cops lingered aimlessly outside the store.

One of them — it was his first day stationed there — wasn't necessarily anxious for the protesters to arrive since he'd heard that "they are mean."

Meanwhile, the store was bustling with families of tourists browsing the expensive coats that have become a ubiquitous sight on New York City's fashionable streets.

Two women even stopped into the store just because they were curious what the barricades and police were about.

They didn't buy anything.

Photo credit Sarah Beller.