Pigeon Lover Wins Initial Court Ruling
A pigeon lover who feeds the birds daily in his Queens backyard decided to fight a public health inspector’s finding that he was creating a nuisance. And he’s had some success, although the lawsuit has not yet come to a conclusion.
The inspector who visited the home of Cecil Pitts last fall counted at least 150 pigeons in his backyard and another 25 to 30 on his roof, the New York Times reports. “Excessive pigeon droppings noted,” the inspector wrote, in Pitts’ yard and in his neighbors’ yards.
Pitts, who lives on a $450 a month Social Security check, was notified he could be fined as much as $2,000 per violation. “It hit me very, very hard,” Pitts told the Times. He feared he would be imprisoned for failing to pay and his two dogs would be left to die.
Pitts filed a pro se suit and got the penalties stayed while a judge considers the issues. In an initial ruling, Justice Charles Markey said Pitts’ case raised an interesting issue—whether feeding pigeons on private property is against the law. Pitts is due back in court on April 3.
