The rare barn owl family nesting in a Manhattan water tower near Central Park was approved faster than any human applicant in our sample.
A study of the rare barn owl family nesting in an Upper West Side water tower finds the birds cleared a co-op board in twenty-six minutes. They gave no tax returns and only mouse references. A human control group, a dentist, was rejected.
"...and then the board chair asked the mother owl about her liquidity, and she turned her head all the way around," said Dr. Hal Brennick, who sat in on the interview as an observer for my study.
The head turn lasted under a second. The approval took twenty-six minutes. I have studied Manhattan housing for most of my career, and I have never seen a number like that.
The owls themselves are real. A rare family of barn owls has nested in a water tower on the Upper West Side, near Central Park, as NPR reported. Barn owls almost never live in the city. Birders are thrilled. That part is fine, and it is not my study.
My study is about the paperwork. A co-op board is a group of neighbours who decide who may move into a building. They want tax returns, references and proof that you will never be loud.
The owls submitted no tax returns. They have no income. Their references were several mice, and the mice are no longer available for comment.
We did use a control group. It was a dentist with excellent credit, applying to the same building on the same Thursday. He was turned down for owning a drum kit he says he has never played.
What the data shows
Now the careful hedge. Our sample is one owl family. A sample that small can produce a result by pure luck. I do not think this was luck. The owls simply interview well. They are quiet. They work nights. They hold no views on the lobby renovation, and they did not once ask about the dog policy.
The board agrees with my reading. "They have a calm presence and a clear pest-control plan," said Marjorie Feld-Aston, the board chair. She asked that I stop calling it a water tower. "It is a penthouse with park views," she said. "We are delighted to welcome the family."
Some residents are less delighted. "I have asked for a bike rack since the Bloomberg years," said Leonard Oyelaran, who lives on the fourth floor. "They got the roof."
Brokers have noticed. One told me she now advises buyers to arrive at dusk, say nothing and stare. Two clients have tried it. One is in contract.
The owls, by the way, appear to be reducing the local rat population. That could improve public health across the neighbourhood. It is not the focus of my research.
We are applying for more funding. The next phase will test whether a pigeon can get a mortgage. Early results are not encouraging. The pigeon has a record.
