Cymbrowitz Reintroduces Bill To Save Sheepshead Bay’s Swans

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz is not backing down from his effort to protect Sheepshead Bay’s beloved swans.

Cymbrowitz announced this week he has reintroduced a bill — already vetoed twice by the governor — to place a moratorium on the state’s effort to cull New York’s mute swan population. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in 2013 declared the snow white water fowl — introduced to North America from Europe in the 1800s — an invasive species and outlined a plan to eliminate them.

The proposal ignited a backlash from several environmental and conservation groups. Some argue the DEC’s conclusion that the swans are a threat to native wildlife is based on weak and faulty science.

Cymbrowitz supported the position of conservationists in a press release announcing he has reintroduced the bill.

“There is no hard and clear evidence that mute swans are the kind of dangerous and damaging presence that DEC suggests,” he said. “As far as my constituents are concerned, they’re beautiful birds and the official policy should be ‘live and let live.”

Cymbrowitz’s legislation would establish a two-year moratorium on the DEC’s plan to eradicate the state’s population of 2,200 mute swans. It would also require the agency to favor non-lethal management techniques and provide stronger evidence the swans threaten local ecosystems.

Senator Tony Avella — who has previously partnered with Cymbrowitz on legislation to protect the swans — sponsored the Senate version of the bill.

The DEC released a revised plan for managing the swan population in March. It would allow downstate areas like Sheepshead Bay to come up with their own methods for controlling the birds. However, Cymbrowitz said the new proposal unreasonably burdened cash-strapped municipalities in order to “justify killing the birds when localities fall short.”