An Upper East Side woman who loves birds so much that she changed her name to Dove claims she was attacked by a neighbor who flew into a rage when he caught her feeding pigeons.
But retired teacher Arthur Schwartz says the woman is a known birdbrain whose scattered seed attracts rats.
The feathers started flying Saturday when Schwartz caught Anna Dove — formerly known as Augusta Kugelmas — tossing seeds to pigeons near his apartment on East 93rd Street.
“It’s disgusting,” said Schwartz, 61. “There are rats every day. They eat this stuff.
“That’s my objection. She’s feeding the rats.”
Schwartz admitted that he got so angry, he grabbed her bag of birdseed and tossed it over a fence. A passer-by saw the confrontation and called 911. But Schwartz and his wife took wing and drove off before the cops showed up.
Dove, 63, insists she’s the victim. “The guy was violent. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a weapon the next time,” she said.
Dove filed a police report charging Schwartz with poking and shoving her.
Her hobby has led to trouble before. In 2003, Dove was accused of assaulting Parks Department volunteer Carol McCabe, who had pointed out to her that feeding pigeons violates city rules.
“She got angry. She threw birdseed at my face,” McCabe recounted yesterday, adding she obtained a restraining order against Dove.
“Some of the birdseed scratched the white of my eye. I went to the doctor,” said McCabe, who described Dove as “a little kooky.”
Dove believes she has a right to feed birds.
“People feeding birds are being victimized,” she said.
“It’s got to stop. I’m representing all people that feed birds.”
She’s a founder of the New York Bird Club, a group devoted to “supporting efforts to preserve avians living in the wild.”
On its Web site, the club expresses support for the Animal Liberation Front, which the Department of Homeland Security in 2005 named as a terrorist threat.
Outside of parks, the city has no rules against pigeon feeding. But under the sanitation code, spreading seed on a sidewalk can be deemed littering.