Real Life Terry Malloy Fights For His Right To Enjoy Wildlife

But “wildlife” is obviously in the eye of the beholder:

David Casciello, 39, who has lived on Huntington Ave. in Schuylerville his whole life, has turned his narrow yard into an outdoor aviary, filling feeders that attract hundreds of pigeons, sparrows, finches and even monk parakeets.

“I’ve always had a life-long interest in wildlife and in birds,” Casciello, who cares for his elderly parents full-time, said as he tossed a peanut to a squirrel scurrying at his feet. “The sparrows are my favorite.”

But some neighbors see Casciello’s passion as a major nuisance and health hazard, and they are trying to enlist city officials to stop the feeding frenzy.

“This wacko is a pigeon freak,” grumbled Joe McDermott, 68. “He’s got to be told to take the pigeons to the park or someplace where they don’t do damage to anybody.”

McDermott said he had to close his swimming pool because of bird droppings. He blames his dog’s fleas on the birds.

Other neighbors say the avian visitors make their children sick. They also have to spend hours cleaning bird droppings off their cars and roofs.

Other neighbors seem to have an ulterior motive:

“You could probably eat these birds, that’s how clean they are,” said Alan Roman, 35, a general contractor. “It was sad to see these people gang up on him the way they are. The guy, all he does is care for his birds and make sure everything is clean.”