| Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC) ShelterReform.org: Everything you ever wanted to know about the AC&C, but were afraid to ask. |
August 23, 2011
A few days ago, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer submitted an Op Ed piece to the Huffington
Post in response to a proposed agreement negotiated between certain City officials, on the one hand, and
the ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance, on the other. The proposed agreement would trade the legal
requirement for shelters in the Bronx and Queens in exchange for a $10 million infusion from the City to the
ACC spread over the next 3 years. As Mr. Stringer points out, this proposal ignores the basic cause of the
ACC’s continuing failure: a dysfunctional structure in which the Department of Health and the Mayor’s Office
control the ACC’s Board, policies, funding, and management. In contrast, Mr. Stringer proposed creating an
effective private-public partnership along the lines of the Central Park Conservancy.
Both the DOH and the ASPCA quickly responded to Mr. Stringer’s proposal. Let’s start with the DOH’s
response.
The DOH said:
“Animal Care & Control is already a not-for-profit program that has mayoral appointees on its board, exactly
like the Central Park Conservancy that Mr. Stringer holds up as a model," the Health Department responded
in a statement. Read more
Despite the DOH’s claim, the ACC is not “exactly’ like the Conservancy. Not even close.
CONSERVANCY VERSUS ACC DIRECTORS:
Scott Stringer knows what he's talking about when holding up the Conservancy as a model of an effective
private-public partnership. Under Conservancy by-laws, the Manhattan Borough President has a reserved
(“ex officio”) seat on the Conservancy Board. There’s also an “ex officio” seat for the Parks Commissioner
(Adrian Benepe). (Mr. Benepe also has a reserved seat on the ACC Board, but never attends ACC Board
meetings.) The remaining two “ex officio” seats are reserved for: a professional (not a politician or
bureaucrat) who actually runs the Conservancy, and the President of the Women's Committee of the
Conservancy.
The Conservancy by-laws also allow the Mayor's Office to appoint 5 people to the Board. All 5 appointees
reflect Mayor Bloomberg’s Wall Street interests. Nevertheless, the Mayor’s 5 picks do not and cannot
dominate the Conservancy Board.
That’s because they are outnumbered by the many other Trustees on this 52-person Board. The vast
majority of those Trustees are elected (not appointed) by the entire board.
And what a swell group of Trustees they are (see below): partners in major law firms, heads of Wall Street
investment houses, well-known philanthropists, leaders of fashion and industry, experts in landscape and
park design, and even a movie star. (Refer to the list’s footnotes to distinguish among the ex officio,
mayoral appointees, "life” trustees, and the majority who are actually elected.)
.
*Life Trustee, #Mayoral Appointee, +Ex Officio
Now, let’s compare the Conservancy Trustees to ACC Directors … and weep
“Ex Officio” ACC Directors
Dr. Thomas Farley: DOH Commissioner and ACC Chairman: a man who cares not a whit about animals. His
duty is to protect people from animals. Yet, as DOH Commissioner, he controls the ACC’s Budget and
management.
Adrian Benepe: Commissioner of Parks. Even though he has a reserved seat, Mr. Benepe hasn’t attended
a Board meeting in years. Like Dr. Farley … Mr. Benepe doesn’t care about animals.
Inspector Colon: The latest in a line of officers from NYPD’s Community Liaison office. Just like all his NYPD
predecessors, Inspector Colon hasn’t a clue or interest in animal welfare. His job is to show up at ACC
Board meetings, and looks to DOH Commissioner to see how he should vote.
The “Independent” ACC Directors (all Mayoral Appointees)
John O’Connor: a blood sport hunter and self-described protector of Mayor Bloomberg’s interests. Although
a wealthy hedge fund manager, Mr. O’Connor has never generated a penny for the ACC in all the years he’
s served on the ACC Board.
Bruce Doniger: Another Wall Street hedge fund player. Although a decent person, Mr. Doniger’s interests
have nothing to do with animal welfare. Just like Mr. O’Connor, Doniger has never generated a penny for
the ACC, despite his Wall Street credentials. With absolutely no history or experience in running a shelter
system, he served for 6 months as an "interim" (i.e., seat warming) ACC Executive Director.
Patrick Nolan: Penguin Books’ Director of Marketing, but in his three years on the ACC board, Mr. Nolan has
done nothing to market the ACC.
Dr. Jay Kuhlman: Dr. Kuhlman is a lesson in how a true animal lover is co-opted by the system. Dr.
Kuhlman is a veterinarian, and has served on the ACC Board for the past few years. He doubtlessly loves
animals. But he has remained silent while the DOH savagely underfunded the ACC, fired and hired a stream
of Executive Directors, and refused to obey the law and build shelters for the Bronx and Queens. Under Dr.
Kuhlman’s watch, ACC animals continue to suffer. While an animal lover, he’s nevertheless proved to be no
friend to shelter animals.
So, we ask, where is the competence and the true “private” component of the ACC’s Board? All are
rubberstamps for the Mayor and the DOH.
And the DOH dares to claim that the ACC is just like the Conservancy.
ACC FUNDRAISING
The DOH also told a Daily News Reporter:
"The Health Department and AC&C agree with Mr. Stringer that soliciting private donations is a good idea
and the [DOH] in no way discourages AC&C from doing so."
The DOH “in no way discourages” the ACC from soliciting private donations?!!! How sadly comical.
The DOH fails to mention who's in charge of soliciting those private donations: none other than ACC
Chairman (and DOH Commissioner), Dr. Thomas Farley. Last January, Dr. Farley appointed himself to
head the newly-created ACC Fundraising Committee.
Since then, he’s overseen the ACC’s steady failure to attract meaningful donations. At the same time, he
happily approved the DOH's savage cuts to the ACC’s budget.
Indeed, the DOH doesn’t discourage fundraising; it simply prevents it. Dr. Farley should be aware of a
primary rule of government: people don’t donate monies to government agencies. The ACC has always
been an ignored extension of the DOH. As long as it’s part of the DOH, the ACC will never raise any monies
on its own. No one wants to give money to a dysfunctional stepchild of the DOH.
ASPCA’S RESPONSE TO MBP STRINGER’S PROPOSAL
Ed Sayres, President of the ASPCA, recently submitted his own Op Ed piece to the Huffington Post.
Mr. Sayres explains that he and the Mayor's Alliance negotiated what they thought was – under the
circumstances -- the best deal they could get from City. He claims that this proposed agreement “will make
a tremendous difference in the lives of homeless animals.”
Tremendeous difference?
Mr. Sayres is silent about the key point MBP Stringer makes: that the proposed agreement fails to address
the core problem with our shelter system. Since its creation, the ACC has been dominated and strangled by
a City bureaucracy that doesn’t care about animals. All of this could change if the ACC were restructured
into being a real charity, one managed by talented well connected individuals, along the lines of the Central
Park Conservancy.
We disagree with Mr. Sayres’ advice for voters to urge their City Council representatives to pass this
proposed agreement as is.
Instead, we urge people to contact their City Council reps to expand the proposed legislation to allow for a
shelter system that would be the envy of the Nation, rather than a national disgrace.
Mr. Sayres is obviously feeling the heat from those he labels as “detractors” (we’d call them “augmenters”)
of his proposed agreement. We urge Mr. Sayres to go back to the negotiating table. He missed the central
point of any agreement regarding the ACC.
Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council could be true heroes for our City’s homeless animals. It merely
requires them to acknowledge that the current system doesn’t and can’t work, and for them to allow a system
that does.
On the other hand, if this legislation passes as drafted, it will ensure the ACC’s continuing failure and the
continuing misery imposed on our shelter animals.
SHELTER REFORM ACTION COMMITTEE
A few days ago, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer submitted an Op Ed piece to the Huffington
Post in response to a proposed agreement negotiated between certain City officials, on the one hand, and
the ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance, on the other. The proposed agreement would trade the legal
requirement for shelters in the Bronx and Queens in exchange for a $10 million infusion from the City to the
ACC spread over the next 3 years. As Mr. Stringer points out, this proposal ignores the basic cause of the
ACC’s continuing failure: a dysfunctional structure in which the Department of Health and the Mayor’s Office
control the ACC’s Board, policies, funding, and management. In contrast, Mr. Stringer proposed creating an
effective private-public partnership along the lines of the Central Park Conservancy.
Both the DOH and the ASPCA quickly responded to Mr. Stringer’s proposal. Let’s start with the DOH’s
response.
The DOH said:
“Animal Care & Control is already a not-for-profit program that has mayoral appointees on its board, exactly
like the Central Park Conservancy that Mr. Stringer holds up as a model," the Health Department responded
in a statement. Read more
Despite the DOH’s claim, the ACC is not “exactly’ like the Conservancy. Not even close.
CONSERVANCY VERSUS ACC DIRECTORS:
Scott Stringer knows what he's talking about when holding up the Conservancy as a model of an effective
private-public partnership. Under Conservancy by-laws, the Manhattan Borough President has a reserved
(“ex officio”) seat on the Conservancy Board. There’s also an “ex officio” seat for the Parks Commissioner
(Adrian Benepe). (Mr. Benepe also has a reserved seat on the ACC Board, but never attends ACC Board
meetings.) The remaining two “ex officio” seats are reserved for: a professional (not a politician or
bureaucrat) who actually runs the Conservancy, and the President of the Women's Committee of the
Conservancy.
The Conservancy by-laws also allow the Mayor's Office to appoint 5 people to the Board. All 5 appointees
reflect Mayor Bloomberg’s Wall Street interests. Nevertheless, the Mayor’s 5 picks do not and cannot
dominate the Conservancy Board.
That’s because they are outnumbered by the many other Trustees on this 52-person Board. The vast
majority of those Trustees are elected (not appointed) by the entire board.
And what a swell group of Trustees they are (see below): partners in major law firms, heads of Wall Street
investment houses, well-known philanthropists, leaders of fashion and industry, experts in landscape and
park design, and even a movie star. (Refer to the list’s footnotes to distinguish among the ex officio,
mayoral appointees, "life” trustees, and the majority who are actually elected.)
.
*Life Trustee, #Mayoral Appointee, +Ex Officio
Now, let’s compare the Conservancy Trustees to ACC Directors … and weep
“Ex Officio” ACC Directors
Dr. Thomas Farley: DOH Commissioner and ACC Chairman: a man who cares not a whit about animals. His
duty is to protect people from animals. Yet, as DOH Commissioner, he controls the ACC’s Budget and
management.
Adrian Benepe: Commissioner of Parks. Even though he has a reserved seat, Mr. Benepe hasn’t attended
a Board meeting in years. Like Dr. Farley … Mr. Benepe doesn’t care about animals.
Inspector Colon: The latest in a line of officers from NYPD’s Community Liaison office. Just like all his NYPD
predecessors, Inspector Colon hasn’t a clue or interest in animal welfare. His job is to show up at ACC
Board meetings, and looks to DOH Commissioner to see how he should vote.
The “Independent” ACC Directors (all Mayoral Appointees)
John O’Connor: a blood sport hunter and self-described protector of Mayor Bloomberg’s interests. Although
a wealthy hedge fund manager, Mr. O’Connor has never generated a penny for the ACC in all the years he’
s served on the ACC Board.
Bruce Doniger: Another Wall Street hedge fund player. Although a decent person, Mr. Doniger’s interests
have nothing to do with animal welfare. Just like Mr. O’Connor, Doniger has never generated a penny for
the ACC, despite his Wall Street credentials. With absolutely no history or experience in running a shelter
system, he served for 6 months as an "interim" (i.e., seat warming) ACC Executive Director.
Patrick Nolan: Penguin Books’ Director of Marketing, but in his three years on the ACC board, Mr. Nolan has
done nothing to market the ACC.
Dr. Jay Kuhlman: Dr. Kuhlman is a lesson in how a true animal lover is co-opted by the system. Dr.
Kuhlman is a veterinarian, and has served on the ACC Board for the past few years. He doubtlessly loves
animals. But he has remained silent while the DOH savagely underfunded the ACC, fired and hired a stream
of Executive Directors, and refused to obey the law and build shelters for the Bronx and Queens. Under Dr.
Kuhlman’s watch, ACC animals continue to suffer. While an animal lover, he’s nevertheless proved to be no
friend to shelter animals.
So, we ask, where is the competence and the true “private” component of the ACC’s Board? All are
rubberstamps for the Mayor and the DOH.
And the DOH dares to claim that the ACC is just like the Conservancy.
ACC FUNDRAISING
The DOH also told a Daily News Reporter:
"The Health Department and AC&C agree with Mr. Stringer that soliciting private donations is a good idea
and the [DOH] in no way discourages AC&C from doing so."
The DOH “in no way discourages” the ACC from soliciting private donations?!!! How sadly comical.
The DOH fails to mention who's in charge of soliciting those private donations: none other than ACC
Chairman (and DOH Commissioner), Dr. Thomas Farley. Last January, Dr. Farley appointed himself to
head the newly-created ACC Fundraising Committee.
Since then, he’s overseen the ACC’s steady failure to attract meaningful donations. At the same time, he
happily approved the DOH's savage cuts to the ACC’s budget.
Indeed, the DOH doesn’t discourage fundraising; it simply prevents it. Dr. Farley should be aware of a
primary rule of government: people don’t donate monies to government agencies. The ACC has always
been an ignored extension of the DOH. As long as it’s part of the DOH, the ACC will never raise any monies
on its own. No one wants to give money to a dysfunctional stepchild of the DOH.
ASPCA’S RESPONSE TO MBP STRINGER’S PROPOSAL
Ed Sayres, President of the ASPCA, recently submitted his own Op Ed piece to the Huffington Post.
Mr. Sayres explains that he and the Mayor's Alliance negotiated what they thought was – under the
circumstances -- the best deal they could get from City. He claims that this proposed agreement “will make
a tremendous difference in the lives of homeless animals.”
Tremendeous difference?
Mr. Sayres is silent about the key point MBP Stringer makes: that the proposed agreement fails to address
the core problem with our shelter system. Since its creation, the ACC has been dominated and strangled by
a City bureaucracy that doesn’t care about animals. All of this could change if the ACC were restructured
into being a real charity, one managed by talented well connected individuals, along the lines of the Central
Park Conservancy.
We disagree with Mr. Sayres’ advice for voters to urge their City Council representatives to pass this
proposed agreement as is.
Instead, we urge people to contact their City Council reps to expand the proposed legislation to allow for a
shelter system that would be the envy of the Nation, rather than a national disgrace.
Mr. Sayres is obviously feeling the heat from those he labels as “detractors” (we’d call them “augmenters”)
of his proposed agreement. We urge Mr. Sayres to go back to the negotiating table. He missed the central
point of any agreement regarding the ACC.
Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council could be true heroes for our City’s homeless animals. It merely
requires them to acknowledge that the current system doesn’t and can’t work, and for them to allow a system
that does.
On the other hand, if this legislation passes as drafted, it will ensure the ACC’s continuing failure and the
continuing misery imposed on our shelter animals.
SHELTER REFORM ACTION COMMITTEE
Chairman Thomas L. Kempner, Jr. Executive Managing Member Davidson Kempner Capital Management Vice Chairman Jane Bayard Executive Vice President Warburg Realty Partnership Ltd Treasurer Michael Grobstein Retired Vice Chairman Ernst & Young Secretary and General Counsel Kenneth H. Heitner, Esq. Partner Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Judy Hart Angelo Songwriter Elizabeth H. Atwood William S. Beinecke* Antaeus Enterprises, Inc. Hon. Adrian Benepe+ Commissioner City of New York/Parks & Recreation Candice Bergen Lewis W. Bernard* Chairman Classroom, Inc. Douglas Blonsky+ President & Central Park Administrator Central Park Conservancy Peter Briger President Fortress Investment Group Mr. Robert C. Lieber Executive Managing Director Island Capital Group LLC Judy Carson Richard Cashin Managing Partner One Equity Partners Howard L. Clark, Jr. Vice Chairman Investment Banking Division Barclay’s Capital Jean Clark Suzanne Cochran Judith-Ann Corrente Norma T. Dana |
Gordon J. Davis, Esq.# Partner Dewey and LeBoeuf, LLP Diana DiMenna James H. Evans* Richard Gilder Partner Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co. LLC William B. Harrison, Jr. Former Chairman & CEO JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jane Heller Senior Vice President Bank of America Jonathan Korngold Managing Director General Atlantic Partners Henry R. Kravis* Founding Partner Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Sheila C. Labrecque Jill Lafer# Evelyn H. Lauder Senior Corporate Vice President The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. William M. Lewis, Jr. Co-Chairman of Investment Banking Lazard Frères & Co. LLC Jay P. Mandelbaum Executive Vice President JPMorgan Chase & Co. Leni May Gillian Miniter President of the Women's Committee Central Park Conservancy Lynden B. Miller Lynden B. Miller Public Gardens Design Ira M. Millstein, Esq.* Senior Partner Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Marguerite H. Purnell* Joe L. Roby Chairman Emeritus Credit Suisse Securities USA Elizabeth Barlow Rogers* President Foundation for Landscape Studies |
E. John Rosenwald* Vice Chairman Bear Stearns & Co. Inc Janet Ross* Eric Rudin Executive Vice President Rudin Management Co. Irwin Schneiderman Senior Counsel Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP Donna Schwartz Joan C. Schwartz* Norman C. Selby Senior Managing Director Perseus LLC A.J.C. Smith Donald G. Smith President & Chief Investment Officer Donald Smith & Co. Michael A. Steinberg# President Steinberg Asset Management Co., Inc. John Steinhardt Managing Partner KLS Diversified Asset Management Erana M. Stennett# Bloomberg John Stossel Anchor Fox Business News Hon. Scott Stringer+ Manhattan Borough President Stuart Subotnick Partner and Chief Operating Officer Metromedia Company Patsy Tarr Elizabeth R. Varet Chairman American Securities, L.P. Mary Wallach H. Strauss Zelnick Partner ZelnickMedia Corporation |
