Scanning tweets on the Albany chicken veto
As you've probably heard, Jerry Jennings vetoed the Albany backyard chicken ordinance today (there is a whole bunch at that link).
A scan of some of the reaction on Twitter is after the jump.
It's worth nothing that the chicken coalition used Twitter as one its organizing tools, so it's probably not surprising a lot of the reaction there was pro-chicken. On the mayor's radio show this morning, a few people did express their opposition to the ordinance (and there was at least one supporter, too.).
We mention this because the perceived level of public support/opposition has become a big talking point on this issue. And while people have cited phone calls or neighborhood association votes or the ever popular "I've heard...", we haven't seen anything conclusive, yet. It'd be interesting if a polling org (hello, Loudonville) would survey this issue.
OK, on to the tweets...
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Comments
Wow, storify is a pretty cool web app.
... said mr slow loris on May 13, 2011 at 7:12 PM | link
Well, it's not entirely true that there are no numbers out there. Two TU blogs put out polls which reflected overwhelming support for the chickens (over 85% on each).
http://blog.timesunion.com/derosier/chicken-about-chickens/3393/
http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/hot-town-chicken-in-the-city/10823/
A survey was also put out by a realtor's association which showed the majority of responders to be in favor, but that was dismissed as being "rigged".
We collected almost a thousand petition signatures of supporters and have given them to the city clerk. To my knowledge there have been no signatures collected from the opposition.
It seems that the numbers are there, but there is a refusal to acknowledge them by the powers that be.
If we called for a referendum right now, the legislation would win by a landslide, guaranteed.
... said Jen on May 13, 2011 at 8:33 PM | link
Backyard chickens are a fad thing that appeals to some people today. 10 years from now, when the hipsters have moved on to other things, the city is going to stuck dealing with stinky backyard chicken coops.
Oh, and they will move on to other things, since chicken-keeping is an expensive hobby that requires alot of effort.
... said Duff on May 13, 2011 at 10:18 PM | link
Again with the hipster chicken thing. Are you sure you have any idea what you're talking about?
... said El Gucks on May 13, 2011 at 11:48 PM | link
"a lot" is two words. "hipster" has no meaning and is only used by people like my dad.
also, the city wouldn't deal with anything, it would be the landlords.
... said andrew on May 13, 2011 at 11:54 PM | link
@andrew Thanks for the grammar lesson. Hipster is a word and does have meaning, and this issue is probably one of the better examples of it.
... said Duff on May 14, 2011 at 4:09 PM | link
What's hipster mean, Duff?
... said mr slow loris on May 14, 2011 at 11:03 PM | link