FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 20, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Forest Hills residents cry ‘fowl’ over birds kept in deplorable conditions
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
More than a dozen geese and ducks have
been rescued from a Forest Hills home
where they were kept illegally outdoors in
deplorable conditions.
Th e Long Island Orchestrating for
Nature (LION), the leading waterfowl
rescue organization in the Northeast,
and New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and
Safe Streets (NYCLASS), obtained the
release of a domestic Embden goose and
four Muscovy ducks from a residence
across from Forest Hills High School,
which were discovered lying on a bed of
frozen feces and fed a diet of stale bread
and moldy bagels. Th e rescuers returned
to the home and were able to negotiate
the release of 12 more waterfowl on
Th ursday evening, Jan. 13.
Th e large birds are now recovering at
LION’s Riverhead animal shelter and are
being treated by a veterinarian for severe
wing deformities and staph infections
attributed to their poor diet and lack of
shelter.
“Animals, whether dogs or ducks, feel
pain and suffer just like we do,” LION
President John Di Leonardo said. “If
we’re cold, they’re cold. Muscovy
ducks are endemic to South and Central
America and are especially prone
to frostbite and hypothermia when
exposed to our cold winters. LION is
urging the public to contact us immediately
if they see domestic ducks
or geese abandoned in public parks or
left outside without shelter, especially
in New York City where it is illegal to
house these sensitive animals.”
Concerned neighbors in Forest Hills had
been calling 311 and lodging complaints
with the 112th Precinct for months about
the birds being kept in violation of NYC
Health Code 161 for months without action
before LION contacted the mayor’s offi ce
last week.
Th e owners of the animals told rescuers
they were eating them and would be taking
most of them to a farm in Pennsylvania
where they would be auctioned and killed.
Di Leonardo informed them that the birds
would need to be seen by a veterinarian
prior to crossing state lines and that due
to their condition, many of them would
not receive the necessary veterinary
certifi cation.
NYCLASS executive director Edita
Birnkrant said she was horrifi ed to see
the conditions the waterfowl were living
in, especially in sub-freezing temperatures
early in the week. She was further angered
to learn from neighbors that this has been
going on for years at the home.
“Th is situation highlights the need for
the New York City Council to pass Code
Blue legislation prohibiting residents from
keeping animals outside in sub-freezing
temperatures,” she said.
Once recovered at LION’s shelter, the
rescued waterfowl, who are domestic and
cannot be released to the wild, will be
placed in reputable homes and sanctuaries
where they will be loved and never eaten,
Di Leonardo said.
Photo courtesy of LION
LION president John Di Lorenzo with a goose he was able to rescue from a home across from Forest Hills High School, where more than a dozen geese
and ducks were living outdoors in poor conditions.
NYPD searching for alleged arsonist
behind two-alarm fi re in Flushing
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Detectives from the 109th Precinct in
Flushing are searching for an arsonist
who is suspected of starting a two-alarm
blaze at a Parsons Boulevard apartment
building early Wednesday morning, Jan.
12, which they described as a drug deal
gone bad, according to the NYPD.
Investigators believe the suspect
climbed the fi re escape of the residential
building at 34-15 Parsons Blvd. just
before 5 a.m. and allegedly threw a
molotov cocktail through the window
of a sixth-fl oor apartment, igniting the
blaze that spread to a seventh-fl oor unit,
investigators said.
Firefi ghters arrived on the scene
and fi re suppression units encountered
heavy fi re blowing out the windows on
the sixth and then the seventh fl oors
while battling temperatures in the low
teens. Th e incident went to a second
alarm soon aft erward, according to
the FDNY.
Fire units used two hose lines to
knock down the main body of fi re and
Police are searching for an alleged arsonist who started a two-alarm blaze at a Flushing apartment
building on the early morning of Jan. 12.
brought it under control at 5:50 a.m. Two
fi refi ghters suff ered minor injuries and
were transported to an area hospital, offi
cials said.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Th e alleged arsonists fl ed the scene
to parts unknown, police said, and an
investigation by the NYPD and FDNY
fi re marshals is ongoing.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
