By Gus Saltonstall
In the wake of the death of Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl, from injuries sustained in a collision with a building on West 89th Street last Friday night, an Upper West Side state legislator is renaming one of the bird-safety bills he is sponsoring in honor of Flaco.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal announced, along with two assemblymembers and leading bird organizations, that the Bird Safe Buildings Act will now be called the FLACO Act (Feathered Lives Also Count), “to honor the [positive effect] Flaco had on New York City.”
The law would require any new or significantly altered state-owned or leased buildings to incorporate bird-friendly designs, particularly in their windows. Hoylman cited the nearly quarter-million birds in New York City, and billion across the country, that die each year as a result of colliding with buildings.
“I’m gutted at the death of Flaco the owl, who delighted countless New Yorkers through his presence in Central Park,” Hoylman-Sigal said in a news release. “His death after apparently striking a glass window pane raises the importance of our passing common-sense laws to help stop preventable window strikes, which kill millions of birds, like Flaco, each year.”
“By renaming our legislation to require state-owned buildings to incorporate bird friendly designs, we’ll not only honor this magnificent creature, but hopefully inspire our legislative colleagues to pass both the FLACO Act and the Dark Skies Protection Act,” he added.
A second piece of legislation that Hoylman-Sigal is sponsoring, the Dark Skies Protection Act, which won’t be renamed, would reduce light pollution in New York State by requiring most non-essential outdoor lighting to be covered, motion activated, or turned off between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Both of the bills are at the first stage of becoming law, and still need to go through multiple chambers of the state senate before being signed into law by the governor.
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Cute name aside, there’s no detail in this bill about what it would actually involve and what it would cost.
Realistically, it would leave it up to avian advocacy groups to sue the state and then settle for whatever they want. This in turn would drive-up the cost of government administration.
Is it really worth it? No one knows. But have you look at how much it costs to get stuff done here?
It’s partly because of legislation like this.
What does it cost us to lose 1 BILLION birds per year to window strikes, 250,000 in NYC alone? The World Trade Center is the deadliest area for birds in NYC. One woman, on a bad day, picked up 300 dead birds there alone.
See: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/climate/new-york-birds-windows.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article
Yep. He’s “gutted”? I like birds too but surely we have more pressing issues
Actually, the issue of birds going extinct is extremely pressing. Birds are essential to the ecosystem. Here is an article that explains how important they are .
https://www.audubon.org/news/what-do-birds-do-us
Good first step. But why only state owned or leased buildings? I understand the expense of landlords to alter their facades, but wonder about the new buildings that have not been completed and are not leased or state owned?
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS AREN’T ENOUGH ALTHOUGH APPRECIATED. ALL BUILDINGS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PROTECT BIRDS.
Unfortunately, the FLACO bill covers only state owned or leased buildings. It needs to be much broader: also all new construction and renovations, and tax incentives for bird safe fixes for windows in existing buildings.
We can all help by adding bird safe film or decals on windows, especially near and just above trees and greenery. But critical: they must be placed on the OUTSIDE of windows, are not effective on the inside.
We can also help by covering windows and/or turning out lights at night, especially during spring (now) and fall migration seasons, and by advocating that large buildings, offices, etc, also do so.
I would like to invoke the Omnibus Hindrance of Foolish Frivolous Statutes act (OH-FFS).
Given all of what has been said, nothing about the act of vandalism that caused Flaco to be in danger.
Is it just me? While it’s a shame that Flaco died in such an awful way but with people being killed and assaulted by delivery bikes/scooters and subway crime at an all new high and homelessness so rampant – we’re actually creating bills to save birds? And at who’s expense? Seriously?
This bill will be a good thing for the birds who live in or near the cities of the USA.
They need us to protect them.
Considering we never thought of doing anything to protect birds until now I am all for this bill.
I am sure it will show provisions and become a good bill after all decisions are made and the bill finally goes into effect.
The current preoccupation with this is kind of hilarious, particularly given the fact that Hoylman’s own Bill cites “between 3 million and 1 billion” birds dying annually in the U.S. – allegedly due to buildings.
In other words – we really have no clue. ZERO. ZILCH. NADA. Absolutely no idea how many die and due to what.
But yes, let’s go ahead and pass a new bill and pile on the publicity on the tails of the major local “news”.
Yes, we absolutely do know how many birds die and due to what. NYC Audubon and volunteers conducted a study. The project is called Project Safe Flight. This information is readily available online. Please read about it here: https://www.nycaudubon.org/our-work/conservation/project-safe-flight/collision-monitoring
The bill could say literally anything, they deserve the W for the acronym. Approved.
Legislation to protect birds but the state wants to lift hight and bulk restrictions on buildings that will, among other things, plunge human beings into darkness, stress our infrastructure and bring little or no public benefit as they fill the pockets of developers.
I am All for protecting birds fro the steel and glass monstrosities that now mar our sky line but let’s get our priorities straight. Stop Supertalls. In the process you may save some birds too while you be fit the humans who live here!
This is great news! Please research lighting recommendations that help birds navigate the night skies, especially during spring and fall migrations. Birds get trapped in light, becoming confused and exhausted. The 9/11 Light Memorial and the Audubon Society in NYC work together in September to temporarily shut off the lights so that the birds trapped in the lights can readjust and reorientate. Help birds recognize and avoid glass with retrofitting (Javits Center) and decals. Use curtains and shades at night and to reduce destructive glare use task lighting instead of overhead fixtures. Especially outdoors, use dimmer and warmer bulbs, cut off the garden lights (“nightscaping”) in the wee hours or use a timer and direct fixtures downward. Do we really need to shoot light far into the heavens at the guitar-shaped Hard Rock Cafe.or the Luxor Pyramid? Nature and wildlife need precious rest at night, and birds use the stars to navigate.
There is/was no evidence that the Eurasian Eagle Owl, aka Flaco, hit a glass window. He was found in extremis in the concrete courtyard between 2 buildings. It is as likely that he collided with other hard surfaces of the building while in pursuit of prey (pigeons) or due to encephalitis caused by disease or toxins.However, it is too early to say with confidence what the cause of death was.
This doesn’t negate the fact that the Audubon Society and other NGOs have documented enormous loss of bird life around buildings in Manhattan by actually picking up the bodies at the base of the buildings, especially during migration. The American Bird Conservancy has developed and disseminated recommendations and solutions for architects and persons developing skyscrapers to mitigate the loss of birds due to poor design. Thus far, voluntary action is miniscule. It would help to have some regulations that could be implemented at the design stage rather than have to retrofit.
I’m a fan of birds. I am. I was very excited to see the return of my American Robins over the weekend. But this is what our legislators have time for? My God. We have huge quality of life issues begging for a legislative solution. Affordable house chief among them. And you wonder why we have populist rage in this country on the left and right? Our legislators are fiddling while our city slowly burns.
They’ve wasted time on more frivolous items. Given the estimated number of bird deaths due to collision with buildings, I think a measure to reduce those fatalities is worthwhile.
These two bills have to be among the stupidest I’ve ever heard of. I, too, am saddened by Flaco’s demise but why did we take him out of his natural habitat to begin with?! I wish politicians would be at least as concerned about people as they are about animals!
Additionally, dimming street lamps during the hours mentioned will only serve to make the city an even more dangerous place than it has become.
Enough already!!
Birds are absolutely essential to the ecosystem and they are quickly going extinct due to a lot of human interference. This is now a pressing matter. People don’t seem to realize what birds do, and what the earth would degrade to without them. Please read this article. Then you will understand. https://www.audubon.org/news/what-do-birds-do-us
Thank goodness he is doing something about this tragedy. Humans are inconsiderate and protection should have been implemented a long time ago. I hope that this safety factor can be accomplished.
What about Rover the Bald Eagle that died after being hit by a car on the West Side Highway?
Maybe they were both high from breathing the fumes from all of the illegal weed shops.
What is going on and who is getting paid?
We are doomed.