Dead Birds Don't Travel

Today, my friend, Liliana, received a call from the Mayor's office.

The call was apparently in response to her letter in the Daily News opposing the proposed Wildlife Feeding Ban that Mayor deBlasio stubbornly supports.

As described in her published letter, Liliana is a 75-year-old cancer victim who receives chemotherapy every three weeks and has to use a walker to get around. Her one remaining joy in life is sitting in Central Park and tossing some treats to her two favorite geese, "Man and Lady" and a few ducks.

 "Christina" (from the Mayor's office) suggested that instead of feeding birds, Liliana should "volunteer at the Wild Bird Fund or take nature walks with birders."

Volunteering at the Wild Bird Fund entails heavy, physical labor such as cleaning cages, floors, handling large or feisty birds, going up and down stairs. Nature walks with birders is usually facilitated and conducted by Rangers taking people on "tours." These involve much walking, often up and down hills.

 Does Christina know what stage four cancer is?

In defending the Mayor's cruel position, Christina attempted to assure Liliana that she need not fear criminal prosecution and arrest as the ban is mostly about "Education."

Does a woman with two Masters Degrees and thousands of hours in a city park needs "education?"

 Liliana tried to tell Christina about all the birds who starved to death at the Jackie Onassis Reservoir during the Polar Vortex of 2015, as well as goslings who starved at the Reservoir last summer (after all the foliage and vegetation was removed) and all the raccoons who died over the past year.

She was told that wildlife "travels" (presumably to Long Island) although dead birds and dead raccoons don't travel anywhere.

Distressed by Liliana's unfortunate experience with a Mayoral representative, I later called Christina's number, but got voice mail.

I left a message that I am "stunned" with what she told my friend who suffers from stage four cancer and uses a walker to get around.

Seriously. "Take a hike?"

(Christina, by the way, never answered an email I sent her last week regarding the proposed feeding ban. It included photos of birds who starved to death on a then, iced-over Jackie Onassis Reservoir.)

The Mayor and his staff are completely clueless and lack empathy and respect for both, starving wildlife and disabled humans.