Upset Syracuse residents are calling for a beloved birdhouse near campus to be returned after it was recently stolen.

The birdhouse on Meadowbrook Drive, a road two miles away from campus, was added as a part of the Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association’s beautification process, which started five years ago. The project was created after there were several incidents of vandalism in the area, at which point volunteers began planting and tending to gardens along the road.

Tim Robinson, a resident of the neighborhood, made several different birdhouse designs for the gardens, including a church, basketball and airplane, the last of which was stolen two weeks ago.

“It’s sort of a kick in the teeth,” Robinson said. He added that he paid $500 out of pocket to build the airplane birdhouse, which he said he wants returned as soon as possible.

Dave Kirby, chairman of the neighborhood group, said the airplane birdhouse was a particularly cherished item, and stressed how important the birdhouses were to residents on Meadowbrook Drive.

“The volunteers give so much, and it’s a shame someone could take it away in just one night,” he said.

No other acts of vandalism on the road have occurred since the birdhouse was stolen, he said. 

The gardens and birdhouses were an attraction for people passing by the area, said Dan Stricker, a resident near the drive and a volunteer in the beautification project.

Stricker said he remembered when Meadowbrook Drive was just a road to get to Syracuse University, but after its revitalization, people have stopped to take photos and admire the gardens. He said the missing airplane birdhouse has struck a chord with many of the residents on the street.

“People are upset,” Stricker said. “The question I keep getting is, ‘Why would someone do that?’”

Stricker estimated there are now about 17 birdhouses along the road.

While Kirby said the Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association is in no way implying SU students had a hand in the stole birdhouses, he said he did notice the incident of vandalism occurred shortly after the new semester began.

“It’s not fair,” Kirby said. “There are people in there 70s and 80s working on this beautification project. It upsets them to see it ruined like this.”

Currently, the association does not have any leads on who could have stolen the birdhouse, but members are hoping to see the airplane perched on Meadowbrook Drive again soon.

Published on September 25, 2013 at 12:38 am