Evicted Hawks Called Home

Pale Male and his mate, Lola, the red-tailed hawks who were evicted from their Fifth Avenue home last week, will be allowed to return to their old perch under an agreement announced Wednesday.

The co-op board, whose removal of the hawks’ 200-pound nest had sparked angry protests from bird lovers, said it would erect a guardrail around the 12th-floor window cornice of the building, the original location of the nest.

The guardrail will “adequately address the safety of the residents and pedestrians,” the board said in a statement.

“We are pleased by the board’s decision to engage an architect to help create a secure and stable environment that should enable the birds to return to their home of more than a decade,” said John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society.

Richard Cohen, the co-op’s board chairman, said, “This was a successful agreement that continues to convey the safety issues raised by the building engineer and the need for the birds to restore their nest and remain a part of the natural environment of the community.”

A bird advocate who was arrested Tuesday and accused of harassing Cohen’s wife, CNN anchor Paula Zahn, and their two children, was released Wednesday after being arraigned on six misdemeanor counts of stalking, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.

The suspect, Lincoln Karim, 43, a video engineer for Associated Press Television News, was not working on Tuesday. He left Manhattan Criminal Court without comment.

Judge Larry Stephen ordered Karim to stay at least 1,000 feet from Zahn and her family.

Karim’s attorney, Dino Lombardi, said Karim was only “exercising his right of vigorous free speech on a public controversy” when he approached Zahn and her sons, 7 and 11, while he was demonstrating in front of the building.

According to a criminal complaint, Karim -- on separate occasions -- yelled and screamed at the boys, causing the 7-year-old to cry. “House of shame,” Karim allegedly shouted. “Bring back the bird nest.”

On Tuesday, the complaint said, Karim ran toward Zahn and screamed: “You’re no good! Bring back the nest!”