Cymbrowitz not mute on state plan to kill swans
A plan by New York state to reduce the population of mute swans is getting a loud rebuttal from a Sheepshead Bay lawmaker who said his constituents enjoy seeing the birds on the waterfront and want the graceful creatures to be preserved.
Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Sheepshead Bay-Brighton Beach), who introduced legislation to save the mute swans two years ago, said he has reintroduced his bill.
Last week, Cymbrowitz reintroduced legislation that would establish a moratorium on the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) plan to declare the mute swan a “prohibited invasive species” and kill many of the birds by 2025.
DEC’s methods of population control include shooting and gassing, according to Cymbrowitz, who is a member of the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee (ECC).