The following form letter was sent to the many people who wrote the Mayor in response to the New York Magazine cover story from October 1998. Hypersensitive to criticism, thisAdmininistration still insists on issuing statements that falsly portray CACC's conditions and efforts.



THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10007

October 29, 1998

In Defense of Animals
P. O. Box 702
Ardsley, NY 10502

Dear Friends

I write on behalf of Mayor Giuliani in response to your letter regarding the Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC).

The October 19th article in New York magazine by Elizabeth Hess, "Shelter Skelter," depicted many of the problems faced by those charged wlth the task of animal control in our city. I However, it did not present a balanced picture of the CACC. This is unfortunate because in recent years the CACC has worked to coordinate its efforts with those of other animal care and control organizations to alleviate many of the problems of dog and cat overpopulation in New York City. A June 1998 evaluation of the CACC by experts from the Humane Society of the United States expressed full confidence in the leadership of the CACC.

Please be assured that the Mayor and the CACC desire to do the best job possible to develop effective strategies to provide New York City with a humane shelter system.

Thank you for writing and sharing your concerns with us.

Sincerely,
/s/ Bruce Teitelbaum
Chief of Staff