Metro

Mike rejects LaG bird flap

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday flapped away criticism that an under-construction trash facility in the shadow of La Guardia Airport will attract flocks of dangerous, jet-engine-clogging birds — even as the city conceded it needs to do more to keep the fowl away.

As The Post reported yesterday, the Federal Aviation Administration shrank a “protection zone” surrounding a La Guardia runway by 800 feet so the city could legally build its 100-foot-tall trash transfer station on the College Point, Queens, waterfront.

The marine transfer station, part of Bloomberg’s signature environmental initiative, got a thumbs-up from the FAA only after it revamped procedures to keep the birds in check.

“The building has been fully vetted by the FAA,” Bloomberg said. “It is a totally contained location or building with low air pressure to keep air from getting out. And nobody thinks it’s going to attract geese.”

A panel of aviation and wildlife experts determined last year that the facility would indeed attract birds and determined it could operate safely only if certain procedures were added, such as inspecting the trash containers for leaks before they are barged out.

The panel also recommended putting up signs warning workers not to feed the wildlife and installing spikes to prevent birds from perching — both strong indications that officials believe the site will attract big birds.

Bloomberg spokeswoman Julie Wood said the city is implementing all of the FAA’s recommendations.

But some charge that accommodations were made by the FAA to allow the Bloomberg plan to proceed.

“The way they have played games with the regulations in order to build this facility is an insult to public safety,” former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall said about the project.

And some local officials want an investigation before the trash site is built.

“What I am concerned about is whether or not there was a shrinking of the security zone around the airport,” said Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx).

“Construction on the site should be postponed until all the questions are answered,” Crowley said.

Planes taking off or landing at La Guardia struck birds 146 times last year, and the airport has the second-highest rate of bird strikes in the nation, according to FAA data.

chuck.bennett@nypost.com