Roosevelt Island Resident Fed Up With Pigeon Poop At Motorgate Garage - Wants Action From RIOC To Clean Up The Mess

Roosevelt Island resident Raye Schwartz shares message below she sent to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) earlier today about pigeon poop at the Motorgate Garage.

Image of Entrance to Motorgate Garage Atrium

Ms. Schwartz reports:

I'm totally fed up with this situation. Today I stopped by the RIOC office and got as far as the receptionist who said "they're working on it" and to contact you. This has been going on for years and nothing is being done except we have to play hopscotch to get from the elevators to our parked cars. RIOC claims it's Motorgate's responsibility and they claim it's RIOC's job. The biggest issue is the proliferation of pigeon nests in the rafters, and those must be removed immediately.

Notice that the atrium was power washed and screening was installed to deter pigeons so RIOC could hang art. Yet they won't do anything to keep this crap from getting on our cars, our shoes and the wheels of baby strollers. Obviously, then, their priority is appearance rather than protecting the health and safety of people who are paying parking fees and taxes.

There are laws about this hazard in New York City. Does RIOC really want the unfavorable publicity if enough of us call the news media to report this or the aggravation of legal involvement if there are sanctions because of broken laws?

Can we please have a solution which should involve the following steps:
1. Get an exterminator to go through Motorgate and remove all pigeon nests from the rafters.
2. Install screening so the nests do not come back.
3. Power wash the droppings on a periodic and reasonable schedule.
4. Empower PSD to issue summons to people who ignore signage and feed pigeons and squirrels.
5. RIOC president to implement an immediate and continuing campaign which will include articles in the WIRE, signage on the kiosks, and flyers in stores, at the visitors center and on apartment building bulletin boards warning people about the health hazards.
6. While the NY City law about feeding pigeons is vague and confusing, there are workarounds  such as declaring that it is against the law of a particular community or entity (such as the Central Park Conservancy). Since RIOC is the name of this town they are able to declare certain activities illegal and punishable by law.
7. Reminding people that feeding pigeons also attracts rats, which has resulted in poison being put down and has already killed squirrels and could be a serious hazard to young kids playing outside.

These photos were taken today.

These photos were taken Sept 9, 2015:

These photos were taken in 2013:

Please please please get this resolved.

Thanks,

UPDATE 10/19 -A RIOC Spokesperson responds:

We are taking the necessary steps to solve the pigeon issue at Motorgate and believe that with a consistent cleaning schedule, additional signage deterring people from feeding pigeons (including the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings) and eliminating nesting areas will help address the issue. Porters at Motorgate have increased the number of scheduled cleanings specifically for pigeon droppings on each floor. In addition, the Director of Island Operations, Cy Opperman, is currently looking into other humane solutions to control and deter the pigeons at the facility.