She's been feeding them for years and I know many people tell her not to. I'm not sure what the city can do to stop her unless they see her doing it, or know her name/address. I believe there are signs posted...? If not, maybe that would help deter her.

It’s so hard for many people to grasp that feeding the water fowl is actually harmful. Not just because of malnutrition, but because it leads to population increase, defecation/bacteria at the feeding site, the spread of avian diseases and changes to migratory patterns. The city should and can easily ban feeding water fowl.

Thank you for your concern, this issue has been received by our department.

While other folks feed the water fowl, she has been regularly seen doing this. Signage might help, but can be easily ignored, and since there’s no regular caretaker at the pond, enforcement of fines would be almost impossible. Education is a good option, how can folks be reached?

Can she be fined? If the fine is roughly the same as a $40-50 parking ticket and she gets fined 2-3 times, that might make her think twice about it.

Felton good point! If Albany had a policy like Saratoga Springs, and if we had a structure in place… in Saratoga it’s a code enforcement issue but the police can, and do issue the tickets.
Unfortunately not only does Albany not have a policy in place, but we don’t even have an effective way to deal with people that don’t pick up their dog feces. The police won’t act on it and animal control is virtually nonexistent… There is a dog poop fine policy on the books, but no process for actually seeing it through. Not to mention the fact that the phone numbers on the signs are a complete dead end.

REC-Deputy_Commissioner assigned this issue to AnimalControl1

Thank you for using this application to report an issue to the City of Albany. An Animal Control Officer will be dispatched to complete an investigation of the situation and determine if the reported behavior is in violation of the law. The Animal Control Officer will inspect the animal and inform the owner of the correct protocols. If you personally witness an animal being beaten, or if the animal is left outside for extended periods in the cold, please call 911 immediately.

This was posted more than a year ago and NOW someone from Animal Control will be dispatched?! Has a policy or procedure been formulated by the city? What teeth do animal control have to do anything? I sure hope animal control gets the message that she feeds them in the evening.

This should not be CLOSED until it is actually resolved. Isn’t that the point of this app?