Pigeons have turned NYC park into poop-covered horror scene, ruffling residents’ feathers: ‘Belongs to those f–king birds!’

Dean Balsamini
·4 min read
A composite photo of numerous birds taking over the walkway at Carl Schurz Park; a little girl, whose coat and teddy bear got soiled with pigeon poop and a city Parks Department sign that advises parkgoers to not feed the animals.
Overzealous bird lovers have transformed an Upper East Side park into a poop-covered horror scene right out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," overfeeding brazen pigeons who now flock there by the thousands and commandeer the space for themselves, frustrated neighbors told The Post.
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This park is for the birds!

Overzealous bird lovers have transformed an Upper East Side park into a poop-covered horror scene right out of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” overfeeding brazen pigeons who now flock there by the thousands and commandeer the space for themselves, frustrated neighbors told The Post.

The birdbrained scene at Carl Schurz Park at East 86th Street and East End has gotten so nightmarish, locals have taken flight.

On Thursday, 3-year-old Kyung Ha had her coat and teddy <br>bear soiled by pigeon poop while playing in the park. Helayne Seidman
On Thursday, 3-year-old Kyung Ha had her coat and teddy
bear soiled by pigeon poop while playing in the park. Helayne Seidman

“That area does not belong to humans anymore. It belongs to those f–king birds!” said Mike Volfman, 39, who no longer enjoys walks in the park with his fiancee.

“They’re not typical pigeons,” the IT worker squawked.

“They act like they just own the area.”

He continued: “There’s bird seed randomly scattered around. And there’s hundreds of pigeons. The seed, the droppings, the feathers. It’s kind of like a sludge.”

The city Parks Department advises visitors not to feed the animals. Some have not gotten the message. Helayne Seidman
The city Parks Department advises visitors not to feed the animals. Some have not gotten the message. Helayne Seidman

On Thursday, Upper East Sider Eungi Hong and her 3-year-old daughter, Kyung Ha, found out just how crappy the park has become, when one of the at least 300 pigeons pooped on the tot and her teddy bear.

Hong, 40, who is studying at NYU, said her family arrived in the city just two weeks ago from Korea.

“Ban them from the park! They are not afraid,” she said.

“There’s bird seed randomly scattered around. And there’s hundreds <br>of pigeons,” Volfman groused. Helayne Seidman
“There’s bird seed randomly scattered around. And there’s hundreds
of pigeons,” Volfman groused. Helayne Seidman

“The city should just take some care about it,” she added.

Jessica Blumert still has flashbacks of fowl play from last year.

“It’s bad enough we have dog poop all over the place there. But this was really disgusting and feathers all around. It was like they had a party,” she said.

Blumert at that time marched into Council Member Julie Menin’s district office, where her staff then got in touch with the Parks Department.

The emboldened pigeons have ruined the park experience, according to local residents. Helayne Seidman
The emboldened pigeons have ruined the park experience, according to local residents. Helayne Seidman
One disgusted resident compared the scene at the park to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 horror movie, “The Birds.” Helayne Seidman
One disgusted resident compared the scene at the park to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 horror movie, “The Birds.” Helayne Seidman

Within days, the birds had flown the coop — and the mess was gone.

But the avian atrocity is back.

An UES couple says the culprit — or at least one of them — is a woman with a shopping cart who, depending on the season, feeds the birds each day around 7:30 a.m.

Judith Samuelson told The Post she’s seen this woman “shoveling seed” to the birds daily. Courtesy of Judith Samuelson
Judith Samuelson told The Post she’s seen this woman “shoveling seed” to the birds daily. Courtesy of Judith Samuelson

“She’s out there every morning shoveling seed with a big scoop!” fumed Judith Samuelson, 71.

“It’s been going on for a long time,” she noted.

“And the pigeons s–t all over the place,” her husband, Vic Henschel, 80, added.

“I don’t mind any living creature flying in the air. But when they get excessive it looks like the Alfred Hitchcock movie and you can’t sit there,” said Blumert.

The birdbrained scene at Carl Schurz Park at East 86th Street and<br>East End has gotten so nightmarish, locals have taken flight. Helayne Seidman
The birdbrained scene at Carl Schurz Park at East 86th Street and
East End has gotten so nightmarish, locals have taken flight. Helayne Seidman

Menin’s office put in a request for additional cleaning of the park benches after being contacted by The Post on Friday, a spokesperson said.

“We’ve relayed community concerns to the Department of Parks and Recreation, who, at our request, [previously] cleaned the Carl Schurz Park benches and placed signage reminding parkgoers that feeding pigeons is illegal and creates larger health issues,” Menin said.

Parkgoer Samuelson welcomed the cleaning but said the bottom line was “stopping the perpetrator” feeding the pigeons.

The city Parks Department did not return messages.

Additional reporting by Helayne Seidman