Feeding frenzy

June Casagrande

They call him the “Pigeon Master of Balboa.” Every day, often twice a

day, 74-year-old Martin Zofchak parks himself on the same bench

behind the Balboa Fun Zone to toss handfuls of bread and seed to the

70 or so pigeons he says are regulars.

They eagerly accept the meal and some will even perch on his

fingers.

“The people love to see it,” said Zofchak, an unmarried retiree

and resident of Balboa Peninsula. “The children enjoy it. Seniors who

come down for the day on buses -- they take pictures. They’ve never

seen anything like it.”

But not everyone’s as pleased.

Hunter Stroman, manager of Marina WaterSports, is alarmed by the

possible health effects of the pigeon droppings piling up in a

densely populated area with children and outdoor dining.

“They’re basically rats with wings, everyone knows that,” Stroman

said.

Stroman has been trying to find a solution to what he considers a

festering health problem. But so far, he’s had no luck.

That is, in part, because city water-quality rules create an

ironic double-edged sword. Recently passed water-quality regulations

prohibit large-scale duck feeding, but don’t include pigeons. At the

same time, a citywide crackdown on polluted runoff makes it a no-no

for businesses to hose down their sidewalks and outdoor areas unless

they go to the expense and trouble of capturing all the water.

Stroman has hit a dead-end with city code-enforcement officials as

well as with the police. Zofchak, too, has called the police on

Stroman in a long-standing tug of war in which each says the other

crossed the line. Stroman believes that Zofchak has thrown bread and

seeds into his company’s boats just to punish Stroman. Zofchak said

that Stroman has hosed down the bench where he sits to feed the birds

in order to stop him from doing so.

So far, city officials have not been dragged into the battle.

Mayor Tod Ridgeway, whose district includes the Peninsula, said he

received a complaint from the operators of the Balboa Fun Zone -- a

complaint he referred to the city’s Code and Water Quality

Enforcement Division.

But Stroman isn’t giving up.

“I’m not trying to be a jerk and say don’t feed the birds, but you

see the birds walking through the droppings then they sometimes sit

on kids’ hands,” said Stroman, who has worked at the boat-rental

company for about seven years. “I guess I’m going to have to go to

the City Council. I think it will be a long and slow process, but it

looks like that’s what needs to be done.”

Zofchak is equally resigned to keep up his 12-year-long ritual of

feeding his pigeon friends.

“I’m not going to stop,” Zofchak said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.