Migratory birds are flying hundreds of miles to the Huge Apple — solely to smack right into a glassy Midtown apartment and fall lifeless, in keeping with chicken advocates who tallied 28 fatalities in a single day due to the Central Park-adjacent constructing.
Higher West Facet luxurious apartment Circa Central Park and it’s see-through facade is “one of many worst offenders” within the metropolis on the subject of yearly migratory chicken deaths, Rita McMahon, the director of the Wild Fowl Fund nonprofit, informed The Put up Sunday.
In a single day on Friday into Saturday, 28 birds, most of which have flown hundreds of miles to get to the Huge Apple, crashed straight into the 11-story W. 110th Road apartment’s home windows, in keeping with McMahon, who mentioned that 26 had been discovered lifeless outright and two had been found alive however later succumbed to their wounds.
“They smash there, hit the glass, and fall wherever from 10 to 40 toes all the way down to the bottom and undergo a double concussion,” McMahon mentioned, including the lifeless animals had been discovered “on the base of the constructing, so there’s no query what occurred.”
McMahon, who referred to as the birds “beautiful” and “fabulous,” mentioned the lethal state of affairs occurs day by day each spring and fall on the constructing – the place, in keeping with StreetEasy, a one-bedroom is available on the market for $1.1 million, whereas a four-bedroom condo goes for almost $6 million.
“It retains on taking place,” she mentioned. “There are lifeless birds in entrance of Circa on daily basis.”
“It’s a tall glass construction that displays the northern nook of Central Park. The birds flying suppose they’re flying into Central Park,” McMahon defined. “For one single constructing, it’s actually dangerous, primarily due to its placement. It is a apartment, a high-rent constructing.”
McMahon questioned, “Why can’t they do one thing about this?”
There are a number of steps the constructing can take to rectify the issue, together with including ultraviolet movie over the home windows or a dot sample on the floor of the constructing in order that the “birds can see that and understand it’s strong,” mentioned McMahon, who posted concerning the state of affairs on Fb and referred to as for people to voice their considerations to house owners.
Circa Central Park and its developer Artimus Building didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark by The Put up Monday.
Different metropolis buildings like Brookfield Place, a shopping mall and workplace complicated in decrease Manhattan, One World Commerce Heart and the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork are chargeable for a big variety of chicken deaths as nicely, McMahon mentioned.
The migration interval from South America and Central America occurs over the course of 5 weeks starting round Might 4, and through that point “we have now large losses,” mentioned McMahon, who estimated that New York Metropolis alone accounts for between 90,000 and 230,000 chicken vs. constructing collisions a 12 months.
“New York is smack dab in the midst of the Atlantic flyway,” mentioned McMahon. “We’re an oasis on the East Coast sprawl with sufficient wildlife that birds can come relaxation and proceed their journey north.”
Final December, the Metropolis Council handed laws requiring “bird-friendly” glass to be included on all new Huge Apple building, however McMahon famous, that the requirement doesn’t apply to buildings already constructed.
Circa Central Park was inbuilt 2017.
“I hope the Metropolis Council will say main offenders should change their methods, however it might be higher if buildings had the ethics, the morality to develop into extra sustainable,” McMahon mentioned.