Please forgive us as we resume our continuing coverage of Little Jerry Seinfeld, who departed the Lower East Side early this morning for a better life in upstate New York. As you no doubt already know, Little Jerry, a Chinatown chicken, served briefly as the Mets’ mascot before reliever Tim Byrdak issued a tweet for help on Saturday.
LES resident and animal lover Jeff LaPadula played a key role in rescuing Little Jerry (who was named for a Seinfeld episode). Yesterday afternoon, LaPadula invited us over to his apartment on Columbia Street, in the Hillman Cooperative, where the chicken was peacefully co-existing with the family dog. Early this morning, Jeff escorted Little Jerry to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen:
On Saturday, Jeff first reached out to Byrdak via twitter. Byrdak had arranged for the purchase of the chicken in Chinatown, after Mets closer Frank Francisco called the hated Yankees “chickens.” But it didn’t take Byrdak long to realize the impulsive acquisition was maybe not the best idea he’d ever dreamed up.
Before long, Jeff was summoned to Citi Field, where a media frenzy had ensued. A ceremony took place, cameras clicking away, and he finally took possession of Little Jerry. The humor in the strange ordeal is not lost on Jeff and, as a big baseball fan, he was thrilled to be at the center of the Mets’ universe. But yesterday, he said, the best part was being able to get his animal rights message across.
A few moments ago, Jeff tweeted, “less than an hour until Little Jerry is in his new home!” We’ll keep you posted!
