Prior to the Center for Animal Care and Control ("CACC") being given NYC's animal-control contract effective January 1, 1995, the ASPCA performed animal control services for NYC, for 100 years (1894-1994).
In April 1992, the ASPCA opened its brand-new animal "shelter" at 326 East 110th Street in Manhattan. Serious problems with the new facility were obvious from day one. (See 4-17-92 New York Newsday: "Doggy toilets don't flush; system won't hold water")
When the decrepit 110th Street facility was not yet a year-and-a-half old, the following confidential inter-office memorandum was written by the ASPCA's then manager of its 110th Street shelter, Julie Morris, to the ASPCA's then-new No. 2 officer, executive vice president John Foran. [Bracketed information added for clarification.]
MEMO
DATE: SEPTEMBER 10, 1993
TO: JOHN FORAN
FROM: JULIE MORRIS
RE: OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS AT 110TH STREET SHELTER
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As you are aware, there are a multitude of problems at the 110th Street Shelter, many of them outstanding since the shelter opening in April, 1992. In an effort to familiarize you with them and with the hope that you can help facilitate corrections to some of them I am sending you this memo. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Please note these are not listed in priority order. Urgent problems are noted as such within the notation.
1. 2nd floor Ward 9 is closed because when in operation we have leaks onto the1st floor in many places. At this time nothing is being done to Ward 9 -- it will eventually be repaired or renovated partially dependent of whether the City purchases the building. This is creating a major space problem -- we have had to reassign wards and double up on ward classifications (i.e., both incoming unexamined dogs and status III [marked for death] examined dogs have to share a ward) which is totally inappropriate.
2. The 2nd floor Ward 12 is open but leaks in several places as well. There is a continual leak in Ward 3 under the main drain in Ward 12. There are also two ceiling leaks in Ward 3 where cages have had to be closed for humane reasons. Additionally, there are several leaks in the staff conference area and clerk entry hallway.
3. The flushing system (where water purportedly cleans the rear trench drains) is not fully operational. This system has never worked properly. The original plan was for the system to work automatically at timed intervals -- this never happened for a variety of reasons. The manual operation is problematic at best. The location of the devices to control the system is hard to-reach in most wards and impossible to reach in two wards. Needless to say it is never used in those two wards and a struggle to maintain its use in the other wards. Furthermore, the system overflows frequently, on a regular basis, into the cages (where animals are housed) because of design and maintenance problems. I have sent a memo to [ASPCA staff engineer] Bill Gillette requesting a detailed walk through to catalog all the problems and work towards repair. Finally, the drain baskets do not allow water to flow through fast enough for proper drainage. Any debris, no matter how small, in the drain basket causes the main drain to back up and overflow in the ward. To operate the flushing system without flooding you need to remove the drain basket. When you remove the drain basket you send all the debris down the main drain increasing the possibility of the drain clogging. (We have spent thousands of dollars on "roto-rooting" the drains).
4. Several locations of the original poured epoxy flooring has come up from the floor -- primarily in Ward 10 and outside the 2nd floor food prep room. Requests have been made repeatedly to have this repaired.
5. The kennels are to put it mildly a disaster. Almost all of the original problems persist. And, more importantly, only demolition of the kennel system will correct the problems. Problems include: major safety problem with doors -- unsafe for animals because of poor galvanization of door, unsafe for workers because of latch problems; floors that are not pitched properly -- water pools up in cage; rear drains that are impossible to access and constantly need expensive cleaning; dark bottom kennels -- difficult to see dogs; top kennels are too deep -- difficult to remove small dogs; drain guards over rear trench are not installed properly, some are too low to allow debris to pass into the trenches; guards can be lifted offby some dogs; dividers between cages often become dislodged and are to [sic] diffficult to get back into the track, some dogs can push dividers forward and gain access to adjoining cages; and finally the design is unsafe for feeding and removing dogs from the cages -- there is no way to feed a dog or remove a dog from a cage without fully opening the cage door exposing the worker directly to the dog.
6. Major HVAC [Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning] problems remain. The air exchange remains unsatisfactory, the wards smell and are extremely damp under the best conditions. The heat in the building is inadequate -- designed to maintain a temperature of 68 degrees but often cooler. This was supposed to be corrected prior to the start of the next heating season but is yet to be started. J. Pettijohn [one of the shelter's building contractors] indicated that once a final design was approved it would probably take 4-6 weeks for installation -- even if immediately implemented we would be well in the heating season. This is a major problem with union work ramifications.
7. The linoleum flooring in the administrative area is buckling and bubbling in the adoption offfice and the entry to the staff conference room.
8. The Shorline Cat cages (in banks of six cages) are on wheels with space for escaped cats underneath. When a cat is loose, often the entire ward has to be emptied of cages to retrieve the cats because they are next to impossible to catch when under the cages. The solution is a stainless steel apron for the bottom of the cage which blocks entry but allows for wheel mobility. A test apron was purchased and recommendations made for the additional aprons but nothing ever materialized.
9. The disinfectant system which was designed to distribute disinfectant at the proper dilution rates through the hot water hose in each ward is not fully operational. This system breaks down constantly. Part of the problem appears to be the location of the pump system in the boiler room. The technician that services the disinfectant system has indicated on several occasions that this is a problem due to the high temperature in the room (many of the parts are plastic).
10. When the adjoining building was demolished for the parking lot the back roof was open at the side (other sides are fenced). This is a security hazard. Repeated requests have been made to have this side fenced, as well.
cc: Bill Gillette [ASPCA staffengineer]
J. Pettijohn/Roger Gardella [building contractors]
George Watford [ASPCA staffl
Steve Zawistowski [ASPCA staff]