Poop Scoop: Sky Rats Are Ruining UES Benches

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY ? Pigeons have taken over two strategic Upper East Side locations, according to reports from residents and the local Council member's office.

In Carl Schurz Park, UES resident Jessica Blumert became truly disturbed when she walked by a set of benches facing the East River.

A group of pigeons had turned a park bench into a coop, blanketing the municipal seating in poop and feathers.

"I was walking with my friend and was just taken aback by ? there's always pigeons there? but I've never seen such poop and feathers covering the bench," she told Patch.

Blumert has spent a lot of time in the park, especially since the pandemic, but the pigeons by the promenade overlooking the water had suddenly gotten worse.

And on that day, there were so many of them gathered, "it was like a modern day episode of 'The Birds,'" Blumert said, referring to Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic horror film about huge swarms of bird menacing humans.

The huge group of flying rats, as some call them, has recently gotten worse, Blumert said. She suspects that someone could be feeding them.

"I haven't seen anyone," she added, "but they're pooping for a reason."

"I don't think they're just coming here for a meet and greet."

A friend who used to serve on Community Board Eight told her she should try to speak out about the benches defaced with defecation.

So Blumert walked out of the park and into Council Member Julie Menin's district office, where her staff then got in touch with the Parks Department last Thursday.

By Saturday, Blumert said, a Parks official let her know the bench had been cleaned.

"They couldn't have done it any faster," Blumert said.

The Parks Department didn't reply to a request for comment, but Menin's office told Patch that they heard from several constituents about the benches, reporting that some called the display "Pigeonopolis."

An official from Menin's office said that the Parks Department will also post signs reminding people not to feed the birds, and to increase patrols in order to catch any violations ? which could result in a summons.

While she loves Carl Schurz Park, Blumbert told Patch that it's got a lot of issues. But the disgusting bench put her over the edge.

"This is one that just hit me as I was walking there," she said, "you couldn't even sit on those benches."

Blumert said that she was shocked at the city's quick response to her complaint, and said she hopes there's a lesson in her stories for other New Yorkers.

"More people need to speak up," she said, "things can actually happen."