MTA Shoos Pigeons From Subway Stations

Hundreds of pigeons that make some subway stations in Queens resemble zoo birdhouses will have to find new, outdoor roosts.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is implementing Operation Bird-B-Gone at three of the most avian-friendly stations on the no. 7 line. To prevent birds from reproducing underground and leaving behind unsanitary and unsightly droppings, the stations are being wired to zap birds when they goto roost on ledges in the stations.

Today, the MTA and state representatives will announce the completion of station refurbishments, including the electrical wiring, at the 103rd street station. The MTA will next tackle the pigeon woes at the 90th Street station.

"It's an ongoing process to keep them from roosting," an MTA spokesman, James Anyasi, said. "We've tried installing spikes to avoid them from settling in and making a mess."

Birds are more attracted to dirtier stations, where they can find a steady source of food, according to another MTA spokesman, Paul Fleuranges. The stations at 90th, 103rd, and 111th streets on the no. 7 line have long been some of the more decrepit in the system. The New York State Department of Health found that pigeon droppings at 103rd Street created harmful health effects for passengers.

After pressuring the MTA to clean up these dirty Queens stations for more than three years, Assemblymen Jose Peralta and Jeffrion Aubry successfully lobbied for $1.5 million in state money to refurbish the stations. The MTA has agreed to chip in another $50,000 a station to implement Operation Bird-B-Gone.

Pigeons and their droppings have also been a problem on the red line in Queens, Mr. Anyasi said. Only a handful of the system's 468 subway stations are wired with electricity to fend off birds, Mr. Fleuranges said.