CTA Officials Are Cracking Down Hard On A Notorious Chicago Pigeon Lady
Chicago Tribune – State Rep. Jaime Andrade has been fighting a losing battle to clean up the mess made by pigeons at the CTA’s Irving Park Blue Line station on the city’s Northwest Side. The sidewalk by the station is so thickly spackled with droppings that it looks and smells like a chicken coop. Andrade, who represents the district that includes the station, has pushed for state funds to keep the birds away. Earlier this month, he was hit in the head by guano during a television interview.
But Andrade, state and city officials and the CTA are up against someone who is determined to feed and protect birds around the city and visits the Irving Park station often with big sacks of white rice.
“I protect all God’s creatures because this is my mission,” said Young Kang, 67, while at the Hoa Nam Grocery store on Argyle Street in Uptown last week, where she buys supplies to feed the birds. “This is not for my good. God gave this to me. I take care of the birds.”
Kang has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor littering four times between 2011 and 2017, according to Cook County court records. In May 2012, in addition to being charged with littering, she was charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly pushing Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, when she saw him sweeping up bread crumbs she had left, though that charge was dropped. Kang has been found guilty of littering, and has been fined and sentenced to community service, according to court records.
It’s gonna take an army to stop Young Kang from doing what she does. Every time you see her she’s grinding it out in the streets throwing half of her income in rice at your local CTA stop. I mean this is legitimately a professional pigeon lady we’re dealing with.
Over the past 11 years, Kang said she has spent $300,000 of her own money feeding birds in locations around the city, going out every day and hiring people to help.
Her commitment and craft do not go unnoticed, for better or worse:
Per r/Chicago
“Oh lord. This is the woman who periodically hops out of a cab at Western/Lawrence/Lincoln, flings a bag of rice onto the sidewalk outside of Walgreens, and speeds off. Sometimes she’ll start screaming incoherently at anyone who makes eye contact with her in the process. She needs psychological help.”
“Oh my god i was waiting for a show at the aragon last year when she got out of a car in the parking lot next door to feed pigeons. all the kids laughed at her…she yelled at them.”
“It’s quite a site to see her walking downtown, the birds recognize her and know exactly where she will throw the rice. They all fly in a giant floc back and fourth and BAM 2:30 pm it’s a pigeon feeding frenzy. I have a couple live videos of it.”
Look, I have no problem with having a dedicated pigeon lady like Ms. Kang representing our city. There’s almost a little pride in it. But at some point we need start looking out for the people constantly under aerial attack as well. Just last week poor Jaime took a dump to the head because of Young Kang’s antics.
After hearing this story I’m obviously gonna have to find Young Kang and work the streets for her for a day to get both sides of the story. Until then.