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Pigeon Feeder's Seed Stolen In "Violent" Confrontation
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 17, 2010
Modified Feb 17, 2010
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on the wall
By
Jen Carlson
Published Feb 17, 2010
Modified Feb 17, 2010
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An Upper East Side woman named Anna Dove loves birds. How much? She had her last name changed to Dove, from Kugelmas (she's also behind National Pigeon Day). That much. But while the 63-year-old Dove may love birds, her fellow humans don't love her. In fact, a neighbor recently caught her feeding pigeons near his apartment on East 93rd Street and became so enraged that he grabbed her bag of seeds and tossed it; the confrontation was allegedly violent enough for a passerby to call 911.
Retired teacher Arthur Schwartz, who says the seeds attract rats, took off before authorities got there. Dove has now filed charges against Schwartz, and told the NY Post, “The guy was violent. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a weapon the next time." But Dove has been reported for her own violent behavior in the past! She tossed seeds in the face of a Parks Department volunteer in 2003, and through the club she founded she apparently supports an organization that was named a terrorist threat by Homeland Security in 2005—the Animal Liberation Front.
Dove says “people feeding birds are being victimized... It’s got to stop." Currently there are only rules against pigeon feeding in public parks, though the paper points out under sanitation code, spreading seeds along sidewalks could be seen as littering.
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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