Oh for the Love of Chickens

It seems like every paper got their feathers ruffled over the weekend about the eight new egg-laying chickens at the Warren/St. Marks Community Garden. The hens were brought to the garden earlier this month from their warm weather home on Governor’s Island, with plans to stay the winter in Park Slope. But neighbors of the garden, who have had problems with the members of the space for some time, aren’t so thrilled about the idea.

The hubbub began on Friday, when the Daily News wrote about the petition, signed by 160 residents, demanding the chickens be removed because of potential rat infestations and noise. To try to assuage some of those fears, the garden held a “meet the chickens” event yesterday, which was apparently pretty loud – and it wasn’t just the chickens clucking.

The two-hour meeting was “rancorous and sometimes profane” according to the Times, and though a rodent expert said the space was rat-free, it was still a long meeting that was “just going in circles,” as the Daily News noted one neighbor saying.

The garden plans to hold a vote on the issue, and will invite residents of the nearby blocks to join the garden, which seems somewhat overdue. So was the meeting a success?

“This whole debate is for people who have too much time on their hands,” neighbor James Cordon, whose 2-year-old daughter is in favor of the chickens, told the News.

Photo of the much-debated chickens via Warren/St. Mark’s Community Garden