Lawyer: Peanuts to Decide Bird Feeder Fine Case

An elderly Ramsey couple will need to wait until September to find out whether or not they owe the borough $500 for having about a dozen hanging birdfeeders placed around their backyard. And according to the couple’s lawyer, the verdict will come down to peanuts.

A case against residents Alfred and Annette Rockefeller was adjourned Tuesday evening at the request of the couple’s attorney, Anthony Ianarelli.

“This is a case about peanuts,” Iannarelli told Patch. The lawyer said that the couple’s feeders are in compliance with the borough ordinance governing the feeding of wild animals.

“The sole issue is whether or not peanuts are acceptable feed.”

That decision, he said, “will be up to [Ramsey Health Department Officer] Mr. [Leo] Egan. I hope to speak with him before the next hearing.”

Ianarelli asked Municipal Court Judge Joseph Rotolo for a postponement while he reaches out to Egan and other borough officials to acquire additional information about the case against the couple. After meeting with municipal prosecutor Chris Martin, there may be a, “possible resolution of this matter,” Ianarelli told the judge.

On May 2, Annette Rockefeller received a summons from the borough citing her birdfeeders as being in violation of a borough ordinance governing the feeding of wildlife.

Before the new court date of September 10, Ianarelli said he plans to speak with Egan, who issued the ticket after reportedly receiving complaints from neighbors that the feeders were attracting other wildlife to the neighborhood.

Annette, 66, and Alfred Rockefeller, 77, were in the courtroom Tuesday night. Alfred is confined to a wheelchair and reportedly seldom leaves his Cobblestone Lane home.

The two declined to comment on the case, deferring comment to their lawyer.

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