The following are the complete texts of letters between the wife of SRAC co-chairman and Sanitation Commissioner and CACC Board Chairman John J. Doherty, after a chance meeting on the street just days after CACC volunteers were dismissed for talking to the press. Doherty lies about the dismissals at CACC and his own statements, his "statistics" are unverifiable distortions, and when directly accused of being an apologist for morally bankrupt CACC management and lying, Doherty has no response.
S. Michelle Wiggins
1700 York Avenue #6L
New York, NY 10128
(212) 348-9341
October 16, 1996
Commissioner John Doherty
NYC Department of Sanitation
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
Dear Commissioner Doherty:
On Monday, Columbus Day, you took a few moments from your after-parade party in front of the Sanitation Building and East 87th Street to discuss the problems at the Center for Animal Care and Control with my husband and me.
I am writing to request that you clarify a statement you made.
Your response to the wholesale firings of the 110th Street volunteers by CACC executive director Martin Kurtz (some of whom I happen to know) was, "Oh yeah, those volunteers up there are really getting out of control."
Could you please tell me exactly what you meant by that?
I thank you for your friendly manner, but what is needed is action and leadership. You implied by some of your remarks that the people of our city are too stupid to be educated about spay/neuter and recycling. There is a proven educational term for what is happening here, the "Pygmalion Effect" which states: a student performs to the level of the teacher's expectations.
Good leadership is that which expects to solve problems and seeks ideas from the people in the front lines and those with successful programs.
At a time when, as you stated "there are more important problems" [to solve than the animal problem]. It is even more important that those chosen to work on less important projects be good leaders. The people in the "front lines" are saying Mr. Kurtz is not.
I look forward to your response.
Thank you for your attention,
/s/ S. Michelle Wiggins
[seal]
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Department of Sanitation
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
JOHN J. DOHERTY
Commissioner
October 22, 1996
Mrs. S. Michelle Wiggins
1700 York Avenue, #6L
New York, NY 10128
Dear Mrs. Wiggins:
I am responding to your letter of October 16, 1996 in which you exaggerated and made incorrect assumptions on our conversation.
First, there were no "wholesale firings" at the 110th Street shelter. One employees was terminated and one resigned out of a staff of 54 employees. The one employee that was terminated, was terminated after receiving notice of improper actions at the shelter.
Second, you said I implied that people are stupid. I never said or implied that. I pointed out to you, when you asked about outreach and education for spay and neutering, that educating millions of New Yorkers that own animals, that are not spay/neutered, is difficult and very expensive. I used recycling education for 7.5 millions New Yorkers as an example. Pointing out that although we have spent millions of dollars on recycling outreach and education, there are still many New Yorkers who do not recycle or only recycle part time. As an example of the education problem, the owner of every animal that is adopted from the CACC is instructed to take the animal to a veterinarian for spay/neutering and the CACC will pay for it. Even with education and free spay/neutering, only 1/3 of the animals were spay/neutered.
To address this problem, starting in November many of the animals adopted from the 110th Street shelter will be spay/neutered before they are taken home. The CACC is also working on a pre-adoption spay/neutering for the Brooklyn Shelter.
Before you are to quick to criticize the CACC staff and management, you should know they are all hard working and dedicated people. You should also be aware of some facts about the CACC and the improvements Martin Kurtz and his staff has made.
When you compare the first 6 months of 1994 when the ASPCA was responsible for animal control and the first 6 month of 1996, you will find that:
Sincerely,
/s/ John J. Doherty
S. Michelle Wiggins
1700 York Avenue #6L
New York, NY 10128
(212) 348-9341
October 28, 1996
Commissioner John Doherty
NYC Department of Sanitation
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
Dear Commissioner Doherty:
Thank you for your prompt response to my letter regarding the CACC.
While I am pleased to hear of the CACC's new spay/neuter policy, not only did you not answer the question I asked, but I believe that in defending CACC's management, you are citing performance and statistics which, even according to Margaret Hamburg in a recent Channel 9 interview, are based on CACC recordkeeping that is simply unverifiable.
As you know, a computerized recordkeeping system promised to be installed by the Department of Health over one year ago has still yet to be put on line. We are very disturbed to learn that records of animals transferred out of the CACC are destroyed after a few months when they grow too large to fit into the ring binder into which the information is hand written. This is unconscionable, and is another example of bad management.
Interestingly, the adoptions statistics you proudly recite are very much due to the significant number of animals that are take by private rescuers, like Patty Adjamine, Ellen Schneider and others. Yet they have recently been cut off by Mr. Kurtz and Dr. Kopp from taking animals on a rescue basis, and must now apply for individual adoptions, wait for "approval" and pay the $65 fee for each animal. This preposterous and retaliatory act by CACC management for speaking out about unsanitary and inhumane conditions at the shelters merely serves to reduce the number of animals leaving the CACC alive. This doesn't seem to me the way "hard working and dedicated people" act.
Most incredibly, you say "there were no 'wholesale firings' at the 110th Street shelter. Apparently you are kept completely in the dark! Just this month, no fewer than six volunteers received letters signed by Michael Pastore terminating the need for their services. They are: Claude Matthews, Jane Colton, Sara Lee, Sylvia Lee, Kamiko Teroka and Francine Zalkin. And Pat Anderson, the CACC volunteer coordinator was fired, too. Who is walking the dogs now? I ask that you put that question to Mr. Kurtz and Dr. Kopp immediately.
Most egregiously, Joan Silaco, the CACC adoptions director, whose tireless work is personally responsible for literally hundreds of adoptions taking place, was also fired by Dr. Kopp on a specious charge. Her record of dedication and hard work is easily verifiable, and I believe you should personally meet with her and demand that she be reinstated.
Your statement that only one person recently resigned is also factually incorrect. No fewer than five key people have resigned in the past six months. They are: Bill McKnight (Manhattan day foreman), Scotlund Haysley (Manhattan shelter director), Pam Ferdin (public relations director), Dara Foster (volunteer coordinator/fundraiser) and Danielle Genova (Manhattan adoptions coordinator). It is no coincidence that many of these people have gone to the press to complain of the tyranny and incompetence displayed by Martin Kurtz and his team.
In closing, I believe that the Chairman of the CACC should know the truth. I don't believe you are getting the truth from the CACC management, who seem more dedicated to preserving their jobs than to saving animals. This is a tragic situation for which bureaucratic propaganda will not be the final word.
In closing, I would still like an answer to my question as to exactly what you meant about the recent firings of the volunteers when you said to my husband and me, "Oh yeah, those volunteers up there are really getting out of control."
I am still looking forward to your response.
Thank you for your attention.
/s/ S. Michelle Wiggins
[seal]
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Department of Sanitation
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
JOHN J. DOHERTY
Commissioner
November 6, 1996
Mrs. S. Michelle Wiggins
1700 York Avenue, Apt #6L
New York, NY 10128
Dear Mrs. Wiggins:
Thank you for your letter of October 28, 1996. My only comment at this point is again to correct your memory on our meeting. I never mentioned "volunteers" in response to your husbands comments on firings at 110th Street.
Sincerely,
/s/ John J. Doherty
c: Kurtz [CACC executive director]
S. Michelle Wiggins
1700 York Avenue #6L
New York, NY 10128
(212) 348-9341
November 14, 1996
Commissioner John Doherty
NYC Department of Sanitation
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013
re: CACC
Commissioner Doherty:
I received your letter dated November 6, 1996 responding to my letter regarding the CACC, of which you are chairman. The brevity of such letter is simply shocking, given the amount of information I presented to you and the seriousness of the situation at the shelters.
Had you thanked me for providing you with such information and made a pledge to look into these matters more closely, I would have taken it that you were a man of honesty and commitment. Unfortunately, your response implies just the opposite.
You state in your letter that your only comment is "again to correct your memory on our meeting. I never mentioned 'volunteers' " My husband and I are both college graduates and we both have a clear recollection of what was said. It was my husband who complained that the CACC management team unfairly fired the volunteers in one week. It was you who responded that "those volunteers up there are really getting out of control."
For the last time, I ask you to clarify that response, because failure to do so will leave the clear impression that you are an apologist for the firing of whistleblowers trying to improve dismal conditions at the shelters continued and made worse by the current CACC management team.
If you want to leave it at that, fine. But, frankly, my husband and I, and you and God know the truth.
Respectfully,
/s/ S. Michelle Wiggins
Commissioner Doherty offered no further response.