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Staten Island Locals Fear Wild Turkeys!
By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 10, 2010
Modified Nov 10, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Nov 10, 2010
Modified Nov 10, 2010
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Photo by John Kuhner
Maybe they sense Thanksgiving is coming up, because the menacing turkeys of Staten Island that we read about earlier this year are at it again. Back in February writer John Kuhner noted, "they especially like the South Beach Psychiatric Center [and] they number around a hundred now." Indeed, the turkey brood began to form when a local set her 9 turkeys free at the center decades ago. Now according to the Daily News, the flock is still around, causing traffic jams, and even trapping frightened women in their cars. It's a Thanksgiving nightmare!
One 23-year-old dental assistant named Gina told the paper, "It was straight out of Cujo. I'm sitting in my car Facebooking on my phone when turkeys jumped on my windshield. I screamed like I was being murdered. They just kept looking at me like it was their car. I felt trapped. I was so scared."
The locals are crying out for help, saying, "People think turkeys are a big joke... but it becomes a living nightmare... no one will help us." City law protects the wild turkeys from hunters, so unless locals fashion Canada geese costumes for them, they're sticking around. For now, locals are using garden hoses to keep the birds away from their homes... but won't someone think of the frightened dental assistants, trapped in their cars?!
Tagged
staten island
turkeys
wild turkeys
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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