| Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC) ShelterReform.org: Everything you ever wanted to know about the AC&C, but were afraid to ask. |
SHELTER REFORM ACTION COMMITTEE
www.shelterreform.org
info@shelterreform.org
September 19, 2011
As the Daily News just reported, Int. No. 655 is being fast-tracked through the City
Council. This bill – secretly negotiated – will parse out badly needed money to the ACC
over the next 3 years. But the kicker is that the money (which doesn't make up for
years of underfunding and savage budget cuts) would be in exchange for relieving the
City Department of Health of its obligation to build animal shelters in the Bronx and
Queens. (Plus, the bill would allow the DOH to continue its disastrous control of ACC
Board, Budget and Management.)
Why the rush? Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. points out the obvious: it’s to protect
the DOH from an adverse decision from the Court of Appeals, requiring that they build
those shelters ASAP.
After 11 years of stalling and lies, the DOH has made it abundantly clear that it never
intended to build those shelters. And for 11 years, the City Council allowed the DOH to
defy the law, and now will effectively reward the DOH for its behavior. While this bill will
please the DOH, the result for our City’s homeless dogs and cats won’t be so nice:
theywill end up in ACC shelters that will be more overcrowded than ever.
The City Council isn’t alone in trying to sell the public on the claimed benefits of this
new bill. The ASPCA has hauled out its powerful PR department to promote the bill
(which ASPCA’s president, Ed Sayres, helped negotiate). So what if 99.99999% of
ASPCA admirers have never set foot inside an ACC shelter to see the misery there?
For that matter, so what if none of the bill’s sponsors have ever made a surprise
inspection of an ACC shelter to see conditions for themselves?
When this bill passes (and it’s sure to pass through the combined efforts of City Council
leaders, the ASPCA, and the Mayor’s Alliance), none other than the DOH is supposed
to report back periodically to the Council on ACC’s progress. SPOILER ALERT: The
DOH will proclaim “mission accomplished,” and every City Council member who voted
for the bill will claim it as a feather in his or her cap.
Ah, but not if you’re the bird from which that feather was plucked.
The ASPCA says this bill will make a “tremendous difference” for shelter animals. Once
the bill passes, Shelter Reform will present a method to track any difference
(“tremendous” or otherwise) of ACC conditions. For 17 years, the DOH has been
allowed to impose mismanagement on ACC shelters, giving rise to institutional neglect.
Institutional neglect is tantamount to cruelty. Yes, ASPCA, we’re talking about Cruelty
with a capital “C.”
The DOH must be removed ASAP from any control over the ACC. Only then will we
see a “tremendous difference” for ACC animals.
For DAILY NEWS coverage of this bill, see the following articles:
City Council fast-tracking bill to let city wriggle out of obligation to build animal shelters
Animal advocates bring state suit to mandate shelters in every borough
Animal advocates rip city's promises to renovate shelter facilities
Borough President Stringer dogs city for animal shelter funds in online petition
No new shelters in Queens or Bronx, but funding due for mobile animal control
City grants cash-strapped animal shelters $10 million over next three years
www.shelterreform.org
info@shelterreform.org
September 19, 2011
As the Daily News just reported, Int. No. 655 is being fast-tracked through the City
Council. This bill – secretly negotiated – will parse out badly needed money to the ACC
over the next 3 years. But the kicker is that the money (which doesn't make up for
years of underfunding and savage budget cuts) would be in exchange for relieving the
City Department of Health of its obligation to build animal shelters in the Bronx and
Queens. (Plus, the bill would allow the DOH to continue its disastrous control of ACC
Board, Budget and Management.)
Why the rush? Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. points out the obvious: it’s to protect
the DOH from an adverse decision from the Court of Appeals, requiring that they build
those shelters ASAP.
After 11 years of stalling and lies, the DOH has made it abundantly clear that it never
intended to build those shelters. And for 11 years, the City Council allowed the DOH to
defy the law, and now will effectively reward the DOH for its behavior. While this bill will
please the DOH, the result for our City’s homeless dogs and cats won’t be so nice:
theywill end up in ACC shelters that will be more overcrowded than ever.
The City Council isn’t alone in trying to sell the public on the claimed benefits of this
new bill. The ASPCA has hauled out its powerful PR department to promote the bill
(which ASPCA’s president, Ed Sayres, helped negotiate). So what if 99.99999% of
ASPCA admirers have never set foot inside an ACC shelter to see the misery there?
For that matter, so what if none of the bill’s sponsors have ever made a surprise
inspection of an ACC shelter to see conditions for themselves?
When this bill passes (and it’s sure to pass through the combined efforts of City Council
leaders, the ASPCA, and the Mayor’s Alliance), none other than the DOH is supposed
to report back periodically to the Council on ACC’s progress. SPOILER ALERT: The
DOH will proclaim “mission accomplished,” and every City Council member who voted
for the bill will claim it as a feather in his or her cap.
Ah, but not if you’re the bird from which that feather was plucked.
The ASPCA says this bill will make a “tremendous difference” for shelter animals. Once
the bill passes, Shelter Reform will present a method to track any difference
(“tremendous” or otherwise) of ACC conditions. For 17 years, the DOH has been
allowed to impose mismanagement on ACC shelters, giving rise to institutional neglect.
Institutional neglect is tantamount to cruelty. Yes, ASPCA, we’re talking about Cruelty
with a capital “C.”
The DOH must be removed ASAP from any control over the ACC. Only then will we
see a “tremendous difference” for ACC animals.
For DAILY NEWS coverage of this bill, see the following articles:
City Council fast-tracking bill to let city wriggle out of obligation to build animal shelters
Animal advocates bring state suit to mandate shelters in every borough
Animal advocates rip city's promises to renovate shelter facilities
Borough President Stringer dogs city for animal shelter funds in online petition
No new shelters in Queens or Bronx, but funding due for mobile animal control
City grants cash-strapped animal shelters $10 million over next three years