By Michael V. Cusenza
Four men were quickly cuffed in Forest Park on Saturday after they brazenly bird-napped a female swan from Frank M. Charles Memorial Park in Howard Beach.
The incident was captured on video and immediately posted to social media, including the license plate number of the getaway vehicle. Concerned Howard Beach residents reached out to authorities and helped nab the quartet. United States Park Police coordinated with the City Police Department in catching the offenders. Their names and the charges they face were not provided by police.
On Tuesday, officials indicated that they were still trying to determine the fate of the female fowl, which had recently given birth.
Photo Courtesy of Facebook
The offenders were arrested Saturday in Forest Park.
Edita Birnkrant, executive director of animal advocacy group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, told the New York Post that the victim’s mate has been “calling out in distress” since the thugs absconded with the bird.
City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) called the caper a “heartbreaking act of cruelty.”
“A slap on the wrist isn’t enough,” she said on Tuesday. “My heart breaks for the swan and its mourning mate. I hope for its safe return.”
Charles Park is a 20-acre parcel of Gateway National Recreation Area, federally protected green space. According to the National Park Service, Gateway spans 27,000 acres from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to Breezy Point in the Big Apple; and the park is both the gateway from the ocean into New York Harbor, and the gateway to the NPS for millions of visitors every year.
