N. Merrick man turns house into ‘pigeon coop’

A 68-year-old North Merrick man turned his two-story, redbrick home into an aviary, allowing an estimated 300 to 400 pigeons to fly freely throughout the house, according to officials.

“When you walked up, you could smell it,” said Gary Rogers, a spokesman for the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who was on the scene Thursday morning.

Acting on a tip by the Town of Hempstead Building Department, the SPCA and Nassau County police executed a search warrant at 9 a.m. on the home, at the corner of Abbot and Bangs avenues in the Campgrounds section of North Merrick, just off Merrick Avenue.

Inside, Rogers said, investigators found more than two feet of pigeon droppings and birdseed coating the floors and surfaces throughout the home. Officials wore protective suits and respirators to enter the house.

At 11:10 a.m., police called PSEG to shut down power to the home, fearing that an electrical spark could ignite a “dust explosion” inside the house.

The home was shaded by a thick cover of oak and maple trees and a hedge measuring seven to eight feet high out front. A burned-out Jeep Cherokee sat on the edge of the property, and rusted-out lawnmowers and propane tanks filled the backyard.

SPCA officials spent two and a half hours rounding up the pigeons, catching them with nets and loading them into plastic crates. The birds will be sent to a pigeon keeper with 45 years of experience raising the creatures. They will be evaluated for potential health concerns, after which their long-term fate will be determined, Rogers said. A SPCA veterinarian was on site checking the pigeons.

The birds, Rogers emphasized, will not be released to the wild.

The homeowner was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. He appeared to suffer from health issues, Rogers said, adding, “Like any collector of animals like this, he got himself in over his [head].” Rogers declined to give his name.

A SPCA official was injured when he fell and struck his head. He was taken to NUMC for evaluation.

The homeowner will be referred to Nassau County social services. “We’d really like to go in and help these people,” Rogers said. It was too early to tell whether the homeowner would face criminal charges, he said.

Rogers said people should not be afraid to contact the SPCA when they suspect animal cruelty. Since June, the SPCA has rescued more than 850 animals of all kinds from homes in Nassau.

Around 12:30 p.m., workers started boarding up the home’s windows. It was unclear what would become of the residence.

“The house is unlivable,” Rogers said.