Support Bird-Friendly Building Design in Jersey City
City Council
I support the Jersey City ordinance for bird-friendly design standards for new construction. Here’s why.
Every spring and fall, millions of migrating birds fly through Jersey City on their way to and from their breeding grounds. Unfortunately, many of them never survive to complete their journey. They collide with glass windows and either die instantly, or succumb to their injuries later.
Birds do not perceive reflective glass as a barrier in the same way humans do. They see reflected images of greenery or sky, and think they can fly through it. That’s why dozens of cities, including Newark and New York City, have introduced bird-friendly legislation to reduce collisions. This ordinance promotes clear, consistent design standards for Jersey City that will make new construction safer. Research studies on buildings that have implemented bird-safe design show that it can reduce collisions by 90 percent.
During migration, volunteers patrol Jersey City streets looking for birds that have collided with windows. Victims include rare and threatened species like warblers, thrushes, wrens, and hummingbirds. Injured birds are transported to wildlife centers, where the lucky ones recover and are released. Tragically, most collision victims do not survive. And volunteers find only a fraction of the total number of birds, as most are swept up in trash, fall into inaccessible areas, or fly away in a surge of adrenaline, only to die later from concussions and internal injuries.
There are effective, proven solutions. Options include bird-safe glass, tinted glass, adhesive films, ultraviolet dots, external insect screens, and blinds. When added at design stage, bird-safe features are low cost—less than one percent of total construction costs, per experts. Bird-safe standards do not compromise affordability, or affect the city’s ability to create and preserve affordable housing. These designs can also reduce energy costs over the building’s lifespan and count towards LEED certification.
It’s time for Jersey City to act so that we can make tomorrow’s buildings safer, and enjoy birdsong and birdwatching for generations to come. This legislation will benefit all of us who call Jersey City home. I look forward to hearing that you support this ordinance.
Petition by
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To:
City Council
From:
[Your Name]
I support the Jersey City ordinance for bird-friendly window design standards. New construction should have bird-friendly windows. Here’s why.
Over one billion birds die annually in North America due to window collisions. Tragically, thousands of those deaths occur annually in Jersey City. Transparent glass is invisible to both humans and birds, but while humans use visual clues to avoid collisions, birds can’t. They perceive reflected images like trees as habitat or open sky as a clear flight path.
Window strike monitors in Jersey City have found many beloved birds, killed by the trauma of striking glass and falling to the pavement below, including rare and threatened species, like hummingbirds, thrushes, wrens, and warblers. What they have found is only a fraction of the birds that die from window strikes, as many are swept up or fly away in a surge of adrenaline, only to die later from concussions and internal injuries.
There are effective solutions, like ultraviolet dots visible to birds that are nearly invisible to humans, that can be implemented in building design to address this problem. The cost of bird-friendly windows is nominal, less than 1% of a large building’s cost. These designs also reduce energy costs over the building’s lifespan and count towards LEED certification. By investing in bird-friendly designs upfront, developers can foster a lasting commitment to environmental sustainability. Insect screens are another simple solution.
It’s time for Jersey City to act so that we can enjoy birdsong and birdwatching for generations to come. Being surrounded by birdsong and spending time birdwatching has significant mental health benefits–and it’s a free activity! This legislation will benefit all of us who call Jersey City home. I look forward to hearing that you support this ordinance.
This petition is organized by Jersey City Birds, a registered nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people discover and protect Jersey City's wild birds. We are advocating for Jersey City to have bird-friendly building design standards. By signing, you show your support for this legislation. We may email those who signed with other opportunities, like directly emailing councilpeople, to support creating a bird-friendly city.