One of the falcons looks out over Central Park. Photo by Richard Fried.
Not even endangered falcons can catch a break from the landlord these days. A family of falcons has been roosting in a nest box placed on a penthouse apartment at The Century, an historic building on Central Park West and 62nd street. But the management company that runs the co-op condo building says the nest box has to go because it wasn’t pre-approved and could be dangerous.
It’s “an illegal falcon’s nest 300 feet above people’s heads,” co-op condo board president Mike Kelly told the New York Post. (We first wrote about the falcon nest a few months ago after two baby falcons had hatched.) Douglas Elliman, which manages the building and has told Marcus the nest has got to go, declined to comment.
Steve Nislick and his wife Linda Marcus installed the nest box this year on the terrace of their 32nd-floor apartment after falcons they call Comet and Cruiser had attempted to nest on their ledge outside their apartment every year since 2010 but their eggs hadn’t hatched. (Nislick is well-known because he has been funding a campaign to ban carriage horses from Central Park.)
Marcus told us the nest box, pictured below, is “less dangerous than an air conditioner” and was installed by the same company that is doing exterior work on the building.
“It couldn’t be more secure. The box is so sturdy, you could stand on it.”
She said last week that she’s in the process of applying for a landmarks permit too, because the building is landmarked.
State wildlife officials with the Department of Environmental Conservation knew about the nest box as well as other wildlife experts who have been curious to find out how the nesting went. At no point did they tell Marcus that she needed a permit, she told us.
Peregrine falcons are considered endangered in New York state.
A petition to keep the nest box has already garnered nearly 4,000 signatures and received support from the Wild Bird Fund.
As stated in the article, the box seems to be secured well, and is definitely more so than an air conditioner. When will some of these people just unwind and let nature take its course! My money is on some curmudgeon who is out to just stir up the pot because his/her life is void of any meaning. Fucking Falcons for Christ’s sake! Falcons! Have some appreciation for some of nature’s beautiful creatures!
Rant over…
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If I were the co-op board, I’d be more concerned about legal liability for messing with an endangered animal than the far-fetched potential for this bolted-down box to fall onto someone’s head. Someone should contact a nonprofit, such as the WWF, to see about seeking a court injunction if the board persists with this absurd plan.
I live in a co-op on the UWS and have served on the board for a number of years. Recognizing I am not close to any of the specific facts, or the historic back-and-forth, my sense is that it will be very difficult for the board to force the resident to remove the nest. Even in a co-op, things are still generally very tenant-friendly, especially in space owned by the tenant (indoor or outdoor). I suspect this will drag on for a very long time….
How is this a historic building?
HOW?? Because it is an Art Deco building designed by the famed architect Irving Chanin, and, as explained in the Wikipedia entry copied below, part of a historic district.
And if you want to see for yourself what makes it special, ask one of the doormen if you might peep into the lobby…with its gorgeous rosewood walls and marble floors.
It represents a certain sophisticated elegance of which NYC was once justifiably PROUD…but that was long ago, before the faux-populist anti-wealth rants that are so popular today among those whose “knowledge” of and respect for NYC’s glorious past goes back maybe five years…if at all!
Anyway, from Wikipedia:
“The building is a contributing property to the Central Park West Historic District, which was recognized by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places when its nomination was accepted on November 9, 1982.
It is one of four “twin-towered” structures in the historic district, including The Eldorado, and The San Remo. Collectively these buildings contribute to the unique skyline of the Upper West Side along Central Park West.
The Century was designated a local landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 10, 1985. … Upon its designation as a local landmark the Commission staff remarked that The Century was a “sophisticated essay in Art Deco design exhibiting a complex balance of horizontal and vertical elements.”
At 30 floors it and two other structures hold the title of the tallest building in the federally designated Central Park West Historic District.
The apartment building shares a name with its site’s predecessor, the Century Theatre, which was commonly known as simply, The Century.”
Love The Century….
love all the two towered CPW buildings – and Beresford (3) ..
all built for rich folks, but love them.
thank you rich people of the past for building on the UWS and leaving us a grand legacy.. also in Harlem too.
Kudos to Dr. Richard Fried- Great photos
Our Veterinarian
https://www.lsvets.com/aboutlsvh.html
As an engineer involved in construction, the nest box appears to be firmly secured. As an engineer involved in construction, who witnessed Mother Nature’s winds (Sandy) cause firmly secured equipment to collapse, not a smart idea. God forbid this falls and crashes on to someone, both the designer and installer will be liable, as well as the Board.
Good luck and remember to look up along CPW and 62nd street. If the box won’t get you, I’m sure the poop will! 🙂
That nest box is in better shape, and has fresher paint, than their window frames.
It is difficult to believe that the folks at Douglas Elliman Are willing to put up with the very bad PR that would come of demanding the removal of such a well-constructed nest box that was installed for such a noble environmental purpose. A home for peregrine falcons cannot but enhance the reputation of The Century building, the Douglas Elliman Management company and New York City. How can any reasonable person think otherwise?
As a bird watcher with some knowledge of the falcons about town, I have no sympathy for Nislick. Mounting anything to the outside of your apartment building without approval of the co-op board is beyond belief and frankly strikes me as I’m-better-than-you egotism.
For those dumping on the board for demanding that the box be removed, note that they waited until after the current nesting season was well over.
I’m in full agreement with everything said in the post about this nest https://urbanhawks.blogs.com/urban_hawks/2014/08/something-fowl.html
Hi – I read that blog post from Mr. Yolton…unfortunately he is doing a lot of speculating without access to the facts – as a result he unfortunately has egregious errors of fact…I posted a detailed response on here elaborating on some of the errors in his post – have a look. Perhaps he will update his blog with correct information. Best Regards –
The Century is a condominium, not a co-op.
Hi – I am a PhD biologist who has studied (and published about) the Peregrine Falcons in and around NYC. I remember the first nesting pair at the Throgs Neck Bridge (1984) – I was there…and I did studies of Peregrine Falcons hunting night migrating birds from atop the Empire State Building – so I too know a little bit about these birds…including working with them at nest sites in California; and assessing their migration and numbers in Thailand and Nepal.
Let me address a few concerns: (a) if you look at Linda Marcus’ photo of the nest box in the article you will see that it is small; fits the ledge space and is anchored (bolted) down in a few spots. This box is not going to move unless the building moves, or someone comes with a sledge hammer to break it into small pieces; (b) Linda and Steve did try to work with the NY State DEC to get “official” permission for the nest box – despite what some web experts, who are not familiar with the facts – have been writing. I know for a fact because I put Steve and Linda directly in touch with the DEC…and DEC representatives have visited their apartment on several occasions (including to take egg shell fragments from the nest area to try and determine why eggs did not hatch in 2012-2013). Lab results showed the eggs were infertile but otherwise fine – no lead or other heavy metal or DDT/DDE issues. The only reason why the DEC HAD been objecting to the nest box (in my conversations with them) is that they were worried that they would be denied access to the box by the owner of the property…(they prefer to have Peregrine nest boxes sited on large, public buildings where corporations are all too happy to give them access)…so the DEC issue has been blown way out of proportion…(c) Peregrines tried nesting in 2011-2013 (Deborah Allen wrote an article about the history of these birds trying to nest on that ledge) but the eggs did not hatch – and in 2014, once a nest box was installed, two eggs (of the three laid this year) hatched – and the young made it all the way to fledging – and are still doing fine…eating pigeons (not rats and squirrels); house finches and the occasional Chimney Swift – the list of bird prey items is quite impressive; (d) Linda and Steve are now trying to get full permission from the Landmarks Commission to have the box on their ledge – and if you look for that box from Central Park, I doubt you will find it…it is small and blends in with the buildings bricks (about the same color) – so this is a moot point that the nest box is somehow detracting from the appearance of the building…and as one person above pointed out in their response – the nest box is in overall better shape than their historic window frames. Finally, yes Steve and Linda should have been proactive and sought permission (or at least alerted) the Condo Board of their building that they were instaling a nest box (and it is not illegal to install a nest box for Peregrines…despite what one web “expert” is claiming on his blog – Deborah and I advised Steve/Linda alert the Condo Board about the nest box…but that is water under the bridge (or the horse is already out of the barn now)…BUT, that has nothing to do with the benefit of Peregrines nesting on the ledge! The residents of the building we have spoken with like the falcons…and to see Peregrines in action is like no other bird – and Peregrines still have special status listing in NY State. So hopefully once everyone on different sides of the issue, particularly the building manager and Condominium Board and Steve/Linda – once they all sit down in a room and talk to each other – hopefully a reasonable solution can be worked out. Perhaps Steve and Linda could pay a small fine to the Condo Board..and perhaps the Condo Board folks could see the Peregrines as a great PR benefit to their building…it can be a win-win situation all around – but people will have to talk to one another as adults and with respect for each other’s interests and concerns…and with a little luck, the Peregrine’s interests too – because even if that box is removed, the Peregrines will be nesting on that same ledge without a box, as they did in 2011-13…Ultimately everyone wants a safe building and happy Peregrines – and happy Condo Board members too. This can be achieved if people are willing to work together to find solutions. I think that will happen…and it will be good for everyone all round.
great insight Robert.
I think the falcons are an amazing addition to our cityscape (and they eat rats!).
What a shame is fear of litigation brings an end to nesting boxes. If bolted down, how are they any different then planters?