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Citizen complaint of the day: Mattapan street turning into Bodega Bay

A worried citizen reports on conditions on Wellington Hill Street in Mattapan:

Our home is a 3 family home and every once in a while we see a pigeon but this is purely residential so I was amazed when I saw how many there were when looking out my front porch. I hit the window to make them fly away and when I did a swarm of pigeons flew away from my rooftop - 20 to 25 pigeons. I couldn't believe it. We have noticed a tremendous increase in droppings in our driveway, on our decks in back, on our patio furniture, but had no idea that we had a problem...an infestation. Certainly what I would consider an infestation. They are a health hazard. We have no food, nothing that should attract them. I also didn't think that they rest in residential neighborhoods. It is scary, unhealthy because of their constant droppings of feces, and disturbing. Wellington Hill is a quiet street and their presence is overwhelming upsetting. Please send someone out.

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Comments

You can call the mayor's hotline. 617-635-4500.

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All the Citizen Complaints of the Day I post come from Citizens Connect, which is the app/online version of the Mayor's Hotline. The complaints/queries go to the same place at City Hall.

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Send someone out? For what? Shouldn't they be calling an exterminator?

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Are there because of a Commie plot.

Do not question such things, comrade!!!

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TLF advance scouts.

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can we do something about the aggressive mockingbirds in Dorchester?

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I pray for this person's well being.

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It was a quiet evening in Boston...

but had no idea that we had a problem...an infestation.

This situation is Mount Hopeless. Wellington Hill? More like...

HELLINGTON HILL

COMING SOON

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Someone needs to do a dramatic reading of this post. Hide your kids, hide your wife, the pigeons are coming!

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Over the past couple decades more and more public buildings have been installing effective pigeon deterrents like those wire-spike things and the newer electronic recordings of predatory birds. Those things obviously don't get rid of the pigeons, they just send them elsewhere.

So now they're infesting residential neighborhoods.

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There are things the homeowner can try. I have two inflatable hawks. There are also motorized hawks so they look like they are alive. Others may try shiny foil of some type. There are also noisemakers. Some people will say that the birds get used to these things after a while. I think it is worth a try.

Adam, my screen says there are 5 comments, but I can see only one.

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The site caches stuff - especially for people not logged in. I suspect some page caches get refreshed at different times than others, which can lead to stuff like that. If you get an account and log in, that goes away, I think, because fewer things are cached for logged in users.

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Adam, I read this post twice, I still don't understand what you mean by "Bodega Bay". You do realize bodega is a Hispanic term for corner store. In the NY/ NJ area even Anglos use the term. I imagine in a heavily Caribbean neighborhood like Mattapan bodega would also have the same meaning. So based on your post I was looking for a connection to commercial bodegas in the neighborhood, but you don't mention any.

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I call corner stores bodegas.. at least here in Chelsealand.

I too was waiting for a connection to a corner store but didn't see it.

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Calling corner stores bodegas even though no one else,including the owners, do so in metro Boston. !Muy simpatico!

Google Bodega Bay, which Adam referenced, not bodega. Comprende?

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so? you're point is?

Calling corner stores bodegas even though no one else,including the owners, do so in metro Boston.

I'm not alone here.. many many people I know call them this. One name I've never used is "spa"..

And Bodega Bay could also be adam's cute way of saying "several bodegas within close proximity of each other" and while I'm vaguely familiar with the 'the birds', it's not the first thing I think of when I hear the word 'bodega'

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That is all I should need to say.

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I'm terrified thinking of the movie The Birds.

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They might flock to the answer from that clue.

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me to it

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Sorry! Has nothing to do with corner markets and everything to do with Bodega Bay, the California town where Hitchcock filmed "The Birds."

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Nothing loves some "rock dove" like a peregrine falcon!

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There are hundreds of healthy trees that have been cut down in JP lately to make way for development, the Casey Overpass project being the most egregious example.

Every time, a developer buys a lot to overdevelop in JP, the first thing they do is raze the trees. Our leafy neighborhood is becoming less leafy. The birds need to go somewhere. Wellington Hill in Mattapan is a nice, quiet, green neighborhood to migrate to.

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It bothers me that developers make no attempt to save even good trees. You’d think there was value in having quality mature trees on a property. It would be nice to see more laws requiring developers to integrate with the current landscape so there is less of an impact on local ecosystems.

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Pigeons don't land in trees (ok, rarely land in trees). Other types do, but not the ones you see in the city.

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As a kid in Jamaica Plain 25 years ago, we all called them Bodegas or the 'Spanish Store'. And I'm white non-Hispanic.

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is it possible someone in your area is keeping pigeon coops? have you seen marlon brando walking around in a flannel jacket?

about 20 years ago a new restaurant moved into union square in allston. immediately there was a large increase in bird/pigeon traffic in the area. before long there were hundreds if not thousands of pigeons landing out on top of this joint 24/7. it got to be ridicourous and I think the board of health shut down the restaurant.

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My advice: have everyone in the neighborhood adopt a cat.

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This would never have happened if it weren't for some idiot smoking next to a gas station.

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Really seriously really there are other things out there that you should more concern about then wasting your time asking to send someone out in the God's name FOR WHAT.
why not asking your mayor what are the steps for gun violence, drunk driving, all kind of crazy things that can turn you, your families, friends, my families and all innocent people out there becoming a victim.
But instead you worry more of pigeons stools, you gotta be kidding me are you even from this planet.

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People can care about more than one problem. They can even assign different levels of urgency to those problems. Gun violence, drunk driving, etc., are all huge social problems, and I would imagine there are plenty of people in this neighborhood (as well as many other neighborhoods) who are deeply troubled by such societal ills, and who would like to find a solution to them.

But on the other hand, there's birdshit all over their house or car or whatever. I mean, it's not the worst thing to happen in the world, but it's gross and annoying. You'd be upset, too, Anon the Crusader. And Citizens Connect exists for problems like that: clear issues that the city can and should take steps to address.

In summary:
- big, troubling social problems: require lots of teamwork and progress and theorizing and legislation and who knows what else
- birdshit from a pigeon infestation: a smaller problem in the grand scheme of things, but one with an easier fix

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