Happy ending for rooster

To the editor:

(re: “Who really rules the roost over at Ploughmans Bush?” June 24)

I wanted to respond to Rose Brennan’s story regarding the rooster of Ploughmans Bush. I’d like to think of it as a story of what good neighbors, good community, and a little social work problem-solving can do to resolve one of the simpler issues we are fortunate to consider a problem here in Riverdale.

I spoke to my neighbor who owned the rooster — and who felt badly about the noise problem it created by the bird’s early-morning crowing. The chickens were one of those “home-grown” pandemic projects where the family hatched the chickens from eggs, and cared for them — not expecting to have to deal with a large rooster at the end of the experiment.

Since I interact with farmers — who are some of the wonderful vendors participating in the Riverdale Sunday Market — I thought of approaching one of them to ask if they would take the rooster.

With the help of Shira Silverman — the dedicated, hard-working manager of the Sunday Market — I connected with one of the farmers at Orchards of Concklin in Pomona, who was happy to take the rooster to live on the farm.

He fondly remembered the chickens of his childhood home in Jamaica, and was delighted at the idea of being awoken at 5 a.m., by a crowing rooster, unlike some of us Riverdale neighbors.

The owner was “game,” and promptly brought the impressive bird to the farmer, sharing its name, its diet, and even its pictures of its upbringing.

It was a win-win for the neighbors, the farmer, and the bird — and one of those small community gems that we could all use after a painful pandemic year filled with the struggles and devastation suffered disproportionately by many of our less-fortunate neighbors in the Bronx.

We could all use a few happy endings these days.

Ann Rauch

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