Community Garden Chickens Ruffle Feathers in Park Slope

Following on the heels of the school zoning drama of Park Slope comes a different neighborhood controversy, this one having to do with chickens. Neighbors are worried that eight hens at the Warren-St. Marks Community Garden will make noise and attract rats, and 160 Park Slope residents actually signed a petition trying to kick them out of the garden. The chickens are there for the winter months only; they live on Governors Island during the rest of the year. A bunch of news outlets attended a meeting Sunday at the garden about the dispute that was hosted by Councilman Steve Levin. The New York Times called it “rancorous and sometimes profane.” At the meeting, questions were raised about how inclusive the garden is of the rest of the Park Slope community. In the end, the community garden is private land and they’re legally able to house chickens if they want. But garden members agreed to hold a vote on the chickens’ fate and extend membership of the garden to more neighborhood residents. One garden visitor told the New York Daily News: “This whole debate is for people who have too much time on their hands. This is a Park Slope problem. People died today, and we are worried about chickens.”
Chickens Threaten to Divide Park Slope Community [NY Times]
Park Slope Hens to Stay for Now [NY Daily News]
Park Slope Residents Clucking Angry Over Foul Chicken Coop [Gothamist]
Photo by butter & oil