To most New Yorkers, Baba is the Central Park Pigeon Lady, an old woman on a bench feeding birds. She is also one of the most powerful witches in the city.

Rent control and hexes

Baba lives in a rent-controlled apartment and would like to keep it. She has grandchildren, is a Knickerbockers fan, and enjoys quilting, bunko night and hexing people. She has arthritis, which makes walking hard, and that's where the bench comes in. Her bench has a mind of its own, and it's been barred from the subway. The very fat pigeon riding on it is named Preston.

She has been to Greece, where she learned the skills she uses to make Baba's Brew. She distrusts outsiders, loves her pigeons, and above all is protective of New York.

Why she's in the ritual

Baba lived through the first Maelstrom 50 years ago. She knows things about the patrons most people don't, and she knows the Doorman's true nature. She also knows that someone named Lionel McClusky tried to summon the patrons before, which isn't common knowledge.

She isn't here for a wish. She's here to protect the city. The patrons put it their own way: she has waited 50 years, and was always meant to complete this ritual.

Friends and enemies

  • Solomon, the chess hustler from the same park, is her oldest friend in the ritual. He calls her Yaga, and neither likes fighting the other.
  • Miss Shelly, who built Bebop, is a friend, and Baba wants to help her.
  • Billy looks up to her.
  • Lady Geist she calls by her first name, Genie.
  • Viper once stole her purse. Baba hasn't forgotten.

The Mildred grudge

Then there's Mildred. Baba calls her a no-talent hack, criticizes her tea, and says Mildred is exactly the type to stay home during the ritual. Why does she hate her? Nobody knows. Solomon knows all about it and uses it to get her fired up. Nurse Harrow, by the way, reminds her of Mildred, and that is not a compliment.

The short version

Arthritis, a flying bench, a fat pigeon, a grudge nobody understands, and 50 years of waiting for this exact day. Somebody has to do it, and she says there ain't no city like New York.