Honk 4 Hawks

Today I went up to 74th and 5th to attend the rally for Pale Male. I’m no tree-hugger, or PETA radical. I’ve been known to wear fur. I've been known to own fur.


I am however, a die hard New Yorker, and Pale Male is just so very New York.


I was a bit surprised at the large turnout, since the flyers I saw advertised the event as a “vigil.” I’m not big on vigils either, as I like big, shouting protests, and so this turned out to be right up my alley and not at all 'vigil-like."

There were a few hundred people waving signs, chanting slogans like, “Bring back the nest,” and “no nest, no peace” (I couldn’t actually say that one with a straight face), while encouraging passing cars to “honk for the hawks.” The support was tremendous, with so many passing vehicles from chauffer driven limos to a double decker tourist bus and a NYFD engine honking and giving thumbs up in support of the replacement of the nest.

The high point of the rally came at about 1:10pm when Pale Male and Lola made an appearance, circling low just above the building, then landing on the spot where the nest was. I and several others near me in the crowd were moved to tears by the sight of these majestic birds.


They have made several attempts to rebuild their nest since its removal on Tuesday, but without the pigeon deterring spikes that were providing a brace for the nest’s structure, (here in New York, we put upward facing spikes on top of air conditioners, and other outside ledges, to prevent pigeons from roosting there) there is not much hope for the nest to stay put.

According to the Post, there will be a meeting tomorrow between the co-op board and supporters of Pale Male to try to come to some kind of an agreement.


Want to help? Here’s what you can do:
Give a call to Richard D. Cohen, Chairman of the Board of 927 Fifth Ave.
212-980-0090 Tell him you want to see Pale Male rebuild his nest.

Write a letter to the co-op board at
Capital Properties Assoc.
527 Madison Ave. at 54th St.
New York NY 10022-4304

Please, if you haven’t signed the petition yet, do so:
www.nycaudubon.org

The PBS affiliate in New York, Channel 13, will be re-airing the documentary about Pale Male on Tues Dec. 14th. Check your local listings, as I'm not sure if this is only a local broadcast.

Lastly, if you do nothing else, please go to the website and look at some of the amazing photography that has been produced of this noble creature, truly a Miracle on 74th Street.

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