Exclusive | NYC neighborhood is the first with Turkey Crossing signs as residents hope to protect rare wild bird Rosie

Roosevelt Island is for the birds.The neighborhood will become the first in New York City to put up “Turkey Crossing” signs in a bid to protect a rare bird that has recently made the area her home, The Post has learned.The bright yellow placards will warn drivers to keep their eyes peeled for the now-famous feathery neighbor Rosie, a wild turkey who was first spotted strutting on the island off the East River in May.A concerned neighbor dropped off two of such signs at the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation office Friday morning, which the local governing body said will be erected at some of Rosie’s hangout spots in the next few days.“I worry because Ms.Turkey, Rosie, she doesn’t have a good sense of direction, and she just walks in the middle of the street.

She doesn’t know any better,” Judy Berdy, 77, who made the placards, told The Post.“I think people realize that she’s a wild animal and she should be respected.She should safely cross the streets of New York.”The addition will make Roosevelt Island the only community in the Big Apple to have “Turkey Crossing” signs — not even Staten Island, infamous for its aggressive fowl, has such warnings, the city Department of Transportation confirmed.Locals have crowed about Rosie since she popped up on Roosevelt Island in mid-May after making the trek from Long Island City.

She also tried Midtown a try — where she was spotted working her way through the thick traffic.But a tragic motor accident impacting the gutsy gobbler is a real fear: Zelda, a famed wild turkey who called Battery Park home for more than a decade, was fatally mowed down in 2014 during a morning stroll.Despite ditching the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, Rosie has already come close to the same fate — locals have spotted the fowl dodging cars and mopeds careening around street corners.The RIOC is hoping adding “Turkey Crossing” signs throughout the 2-mile community will help avoid a turkey tragedy.The idea was in ...