Posted on 12/15/2004 6:06:49 PM PST by mathprof
The Manhattan apartment building that ran afoul of bird lovers when it evicted the red-tailed hawk known as Pale Male began restoring his nest on Wednesday as one of the bird's staunchest supporters faced harassment charges.
Lincoln Karim, 43, who runs the Web site www.palemale.com and battled in recent days to have the nest restored, appeared in court accused of accosting CNN anchorwoman Paula Zahn, her husband, Richard Cohen, who heads the building's co-op board, and their two children.
Bird lovers, including Karim, have gathered outside the ritzy Upper East Side building for the past week, staging noisy protests to contest the apartment's abrupt removal of Pale Male's nest and the metal spikes the supported it.
The hawk's decision to build his home 12 stories above Central Park in 1993 made him a local spectacle and the subject of a book and documentary film.
Karim was accused of accosting Zahn's 7-year-old son, taking pictures of the family and running after Zahn yelling: "You're no good. Bring back the nest."
He was released but ordered to stay at least 1,000 feet (305 metres) from the family.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone after the kids. I was trying to get my point across," said Karim, who was arrested late on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the New York City Audubon Society and the building's board agreed to restore the metal spikes supporting the nest and erect a guardrail around its 12th-floor roost to safeguard residents and passersby.
That work began on Wednesday. It will be up to Pale Male and his mate, Lola, to bring back twigs to rebuild the actual nest.
why would they call a bird Pale Male...stupidest bird name ever
When mad liberals attack ...
Just guessing but I suspect that it was originally used as a description of a hatchling. As it stayed int he area, the description morphed into a name.
Reminds me of a local story from many years ago. Some guy (urbanite no doubt) drove down a road in rural Ozarks-Lawrence County, and observed a "bird" caught in a barbed-wire fence. He stopped to render assistance. Problem was, the "bird" was a Turkey Vulture and promptly turned his face into what looked like a plate full of 4 day-old-truck-stop-spaghetti!
Live and learn...save the Ozark Snail-Darter.
Ummm, how many residents and passersby walk around the 12th floor ledge anyhow?
Sounds like "pell-mell" in a Southern accent.
Luv it when liberals turn on each other....
As I understand it, the name Pale Male came from the fact that his coloring is lighter than it should be. Sort of washed out looking.
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