Lights Out Coalition, an alliance of New Yorkers dedicated to protecting Gotham City’s wildlife, elected officials, and animal rights activists, gathered outside City Hall in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, celebrating Intro 1073.
Intro 1073 is the third and final piece of a package of laws titled Flaco’s Laws, named after the Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo in 2023 and quickly captured the hearts of New Yorkers by storm before he died on Feb. 23, 2024, when he flew into a window of an Upper West Side building.
The bill, prime sponsored by City Council members Tiffany Cabán (D-Queens) and Shaun Abreu (D-Manhattan), would require buildings classified as business, mercantile, or residential under the city’s Building Code to replace reflective glass with bird-friendly materials to prevent fatal bird window strikes by Jan. 1, 20230. A quarter million birds die in New York City every year after fatal collisions with reflective glass, and it is estimated that nearly one billion birds collide with glass in the U.S. a year, killing most of them.
Cabán told the crowd the bill would protect biodiversity, nature, and the environment. In the past few decades, there has been a 60% decrease in the bird populaton worldwide, creating havoc on the ecosystem since bird control pests, pollinate flowers, and disperse seeds.
“They go hand in hand -and wing and paw- with supporting everyday New Yorkers and building the future that we deserve,” Cabán said.
Cabán also pointed out a historic first of animal rights and environmental protection advocates teaming up with labor unions, District Council 9 and Glaziers Local 1087, to help pass legislation.
“This is the first time ever that animal protection organizations and labor power have teamed up like this to help pass legislation that’s going to benefit animals. It’s going to help the environment, while also creating job opportunities for 1000s of middle class New Yorkers,” Cabán said.
In a statement, Davon Lomax, political director for District Council 9 IUPAT, described the bill as a “win-win” for union workers and the environment.
“By retrofitting glass on buildings to protect birds, we’re taking a vital step toward preserving wildlife and making our cities more sustainable. At the same time, we’re creating good-paying union jobs for skilled glaziers, ensuring that the benefits of this initiative reach working families. It’s a smart, responsible investment in our future,” Lomax stated.
Kathy Nizzari, Founder and Chair of Lights Out Coalition, pointed out that in 2019, the City Council passed a law requiring new construction to use bird friendly materials.
“We need the same regulations applied to the more than 1 million existing buildings in the city,” Nizzari urged. “Canada and several European countries have been using bird savings [and] energy saving measures for decades. It’s high time New York City follows their lead.”
Actress Lili Taylor, a bird activist and member of the audible Audubon Society’s board of directors called the bill an “easy fix.”
“New York City has an opportunity to become the best city in the world by becoming a safe place for birds, a place where it can create jobs for union workers,” Taylor said. “Birds win. People win. New York wins.”
Vegan and animal rights activist, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan), candidate for City Council District 2, a seat currrently occupied by term-limited Carlina Rivera, wants to have the bill passed before the end of the year.
“We’ve seen time and time again how the way we build and the way we develop and the way we function doesn’t care about animals [and] birds, and so we need to do something better, and this is what this law is going to do,” Epstein proclaimed.
Council Member Robert Holden (D-Queens), a staunch animal rights advocate, lamented the city’s lackluster attitude when it comes to well-being of animals, calling for the creation of an animal welfare committee -currently animal welfare falls under the jurisdiction of the Council’s Health Committee.
“We really need all the help we can get, not only on this issue, but on all animal rights issues,” Holden urged. “We really need to get moving on most animal rights, and that’s what’s lacking in this administration on both sides of City Hall.”
On Sept. 26, the City Council unamimously passed one part of Flaco’s laws package, Intro 0736, a rat contraceptive pilot program which has to be inacted within 180 days and will run for at least 12 months. NYC Dept. of Health, in cooperation with the Department of Sanitation and a rodent expert, will distribute edible pellets that sterilize male and female rats within two rat mitigation zones. A necropsy conducted by the Bronx Zoo revealed that Flaco also had high levels of rat poison in his system, which would have killed him eventually if he hadn’t been killed after sustaining traumatic injuries after flying into the window.
Another bill, Intro 1039-2023, sponsored by Council Member Francisco Moya (D-Queens) would require privately owned commercial and industrial buildings to turn off non-essential lighting during the migration period.
