Metro
This rooster really ruffled feathers.
Neighbors in the Hamptons have been in a bitter months-long feud over a noisy rooster. One is shouting that the chickens are waking them up frequently, and the other is reporting the “harassment” to the police.
The chicken play, which is currently pending in District Court, began last May in East Hampton when Mark Auerbach, 53, was arrested in East Hampton after his neighbor Efrain Mayorga's pet rooster, Brownie, made loud, pre-dawn cries. It started because I was fed up with it.
According to court documents, Auerbach complained to the town that the loud, feathered chirps began at about 4:45 a.m. and continued until 8 a.m. in the suburbs.
“I'm sorry to say this, but it's completely ridiculous,” Auerbach, 53, told the Post. “I had to go to the doctor and take sleeping pills to deal with it.”
Auerbach said he lost his $1,750-a-month rental because of the noise, and his children no longer wanted to stay with him because they couldn't sleep, according to court documents.
He repeatedly complained to the town about the Cock-a-Doodle disturbances and wrote dozens of logs chronicling the times and dates of each nuisance.
“[It’s] “The early morning noise is miserable,” Auerbach wrote in a letter to town officials. “We are at a loss.”
“There's a simple solution: remove this damn rooster from the property,” he exclaimed.
According to court documents, authorities said the complaint led to a months-long investigation in the town and the bird's owner was charged with a rare noise pollution violation. However, the Auerbachs said the town did not remove Brownie, who continued to squeal uncontrollably every morning.
But Mayorga's daughter, Ana Nuñez, claims Auerbach started the fight simply because he wanted to rent out a house on Airbnb to set up a pool party.
She said Auerbach sent threatening letters to her family, pretending they were from his lawyer, and honked and yelled at Rooster.
“Plaintiff states that Mr. Auerbach has…'' an East Hampton Town police officer wrote in his report, according to the East Hampton Star.
“He's causing a nuisance. For him to deliver a fake lawyer's letter is harassment…it's a crime,” Nunez, who is himself a lawyer, told the Post. “This is what animals do.”
Mr. Auerbach could not be reached for comment on the fake lawyer's claims.
Her family even built a coop over the chicken coop to keep the chickens from crowing.
“I think this is a combination of right and opportunity because he rents a house. The pool is the closest thing to our chicken coop.”
According to the East Hampton Star, which first reported the neighborhood confrontation, Mayorgas called police after receiving the letter and said Auerbach was “yelling” at police through the fence and saying, “It's from my lawyer. He reported that he had sent a “false document” claiming that
Auerbach then agreed to stop contacting his family, East Hampton Town Police Officer Andrew Nimmo wrote.
Auerbach said she first tried to beg him to stop roostering by sending him “incredibly polite” letters and flowers. He said they had agreed to remove the birds by May 2023, but that was not done after that.
“I feel that way because I can't sleep,” he said. “I tried earplugs, soundproofing, thick curtains, etc.”
The two sides have since filed a lawsuit, with the Mayorgas seeking to have the noise citation dismissed, which could result in a $1,000 fine.
The case is scheduled to be heard in Easthampton Municipal Justice Court on April 30.
Additional reporting by Steve Janoski
