Shelter Notes

NYCACC (the ACC) is New York City's animal control provider.

NYC ACC had its name changed from New York City Animal Care & Control (NYC ACC) to New York City Animal Care Centers (NYCACC). A cosmetic, PR move. The NYC ACC continues to kill.

NYCACC will be generally be referred to here as the ACC. ‘BACC’ is the Brooklyn ACC. ‘MACC’ is the Manhattan ACC. ‘SIACC’ is the Staten Island ACC. All operate as kill pounds.

Although the ACC masquerades as a 501(c)(3) “charity,” it is a taxpayer-supported agency of the New York City government. The ACC is a pound. It's not a shelter if it kills based on arbitrary deadlines.

It's important to update the archaic 1894 dog law and help move towards instituting modern shelter reforms in New York City. And State.

Watch Redemption, about how America's humane movement - which began in New York City - became co-opted by money and cronyism.

Letter from Senator Marty Golden to former DOHMH Commissioner Mary Travis Basset. Senator Golden asks for a No Kill New York City, 2-13-16.

The conflict of interest with DOHMH as the overseer of animal welfare

Esther Koslow
Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC)
21 years ago Esther Koslow of Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC) attempted a NYC Charter amendment to create a Department of Animal Welfare. Voices for Shelter Animals picked up the effort and finally lobbied for the creation of the current NYC Council Intro 1478 which SRAC support adding important recommendation to include all animals. Koslow points out the conflict of interest in that the DOH's mission is to protect people's health and animals only factor in if they pose a risk to the public health.

Nancy Sliwa
Director of the Guardian Angels Animal Protection Program
Sliwa decries the 34-year contract between the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and Animal Care & Control.

Sliwa recounts the DOH/ACC 20+ years of failure that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of animals killed while handing over the costs to others. Nearly all the animals are leaving sick even if they're healthy on intake. 70% of ACC funds going to salary, and as an organization they have no motivation for a targeted plan of action to address these problems. Sliwa also discusses the DOH conflicts of interest with enforcement.

New York ACC Quickly Kills Large Numbers of Animals
12-2019 article by NJ Animal Observer.

See: Intro 1502 about the welfare of shelter animals and transparency.

Bill de Blasio has NOT honored his 2014 promise for a No-Kill New York City.
There is much de Blasio can do to transform New York City to a humane, no kill city. Legislating, shelter reform and shutting down the ACC and its New Hope program, sending the ASPCA packing. But he hasn't.

It's clear that New Yorker's don't have a shelter they can trust.
- Dear Mayor de Blasio and Members of the City Council - Letter from Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center to NYC Mayor and City Council about animal care deficits and a 34-year contract passed without public input. 9-15-18.

- Letter from Senator Marty Golden to former DOHMH Commissioner Mary Travis Basset. Senator Golden asks for a No Kill New York City, 2-13-16.

- Gothamist 6-17-19 - NYC Was Supposed To Be A 'No Kill' Animal Shelter City By 2015. What Happened?

A real estate deal pushes the 34-year contract undeservedly awarded.
In spite of the ACC's record, in January 2019 a poorly vetted 34-year contract was awarded to the ACC with minimal public input. A real estate deal for the toxic dump site where the Queens Shelter is being built, helped to push the ACC contract forward.
See: Queens Shelter

Legislation is needed for shelter reform in order to stop the needless killing of adoptable treatable animals in New York.
See: SARA and CAPA
Also see Intro 1502

Spay-Neuter-Kill (SNK): NYCACC/ASPCA's cruel and wasteful practice
This practice by the ACC in collaboration with the ASPCA is cruel to animals and wasteful of taxpayer dollars. Spay-Neuter-Kill is supposedly being investigated by the New York State Attorney General, however Tish James is not an independent elected official.

Mr. Magoo's finder brought him to the police, and they brought him to the ACC. The finder went to the ACC to check on him while looking for his parents/owners. The finder found the owners and brought them to the ACC. The ACC had already killed Mr. Magoo.
See: Pet Rescue Report   Animal Litigation Fundraiser

The ACC illegally and silently kills before the Stray Hold wait period is up.
These dogs were all silently killed.

Nathan Winograd

The ACC kills lactiating moms and moms while they're giving birth.

New Hope Rescues are in crisis. List
The New Hope Rescue list is poorly managed and in need of a complete overhaul. The ACC claims that they have approximately 300 New Hope Rescue partners, but in reality there are only a handful of rescues pulling. As a result more animals die.

Denying access to qualified 501(c)(3) rescues to pull, and the latest DOHMH unheard of stipulations for a rescue to pull, is not going to attract rescues. The ACC must simplify the process for rescues to get New Hope Rescue status for pulling.

Bruno was killed 12-5-19 by the ACC.
This testimony is from his Facebook post which is currently unavailable.

A dysfunctional system
makes it harder for the animals, rescues and the public.

Dogs are railroaded and thrown on kill lists, making it harder for them to find a home.

Killing

A lethal combo:
- the lack of New Hope Partners
- the ACC railroading too many animals as rescue-only; kill-listing these animals;
- overloading the kill lists.

Advocates and the public scramble to save lives while the ACC is quick to kill, demonstrating a lack of compassion and a lust to kill.

Once animals are rated New Hope (NH), it's much harder to save their lives. At the same time the ACC poorly screens potential adopters and poorly trains ACC fosters. When these animals are returned to the ACC, it's more often than not directly to the kill list. .

September 2020

In just one month at the ACC
210 animals were killed or died in custody.

This pic was made sometime in 2020, and refers to the year 2020.

The ACC continually denies fosters and adopters and then proceeds to kill.
Animals are killed even when the ACC's own New Hope Rescue partners approve fosters, adopters and trainers. For this reason, SARA is very important upcoming legislation.

The killing of Hussle

The ACC killed Hussle in June 2021.
He was 2 years old.
Watch Hussle's video and know that the ACC killed him.

The killing of Ruby

Many worked hard to rescue Ruby
and were heartbroken when she was killed.

Dino and Callie
were killed the same day
at the Brooklyn ACC (BACC).
November 21, 2019

The killing of Dino

The ACC killed Dino while Mario from Hickory's World
drove cross-country to save Dino's life,
just as Mario had done for Hickory.

NYCACC   The Dodo   The Epoch Times   Animal Channel

Mario was close by, on his way to the ACC when the ACC killed Dino.
Others were offering to adopt Dino as well.
It seemed like a vengeful killing by NYCACC.

The killing of Callie

The ACC didn't pick up their phones.

Callie was a one year old throw away mama.

Both Dino and Callie were killed with rescue interest and homes to go to.

Facebook

The killing of Gouda

Gouda, an abused dog, was killed by the ACC on October 12, 2019.

Facebook.

Keith Olberman on Twitter.

Animal Advocate Ann Gaviota
(@gaviota330)
Ann worked tirelessly to save the lives of NYCACC's deathrow dogs.
No matter how large the ACC's kill list was -
Ann tweeted to save the life of every deathrow dog on the list.
After an illness, Ann passed away in September 2020.
RIP Ann.

The killing of Damu

DAMU had 2 homes to go to and training options
but the ACC killed him on April 16, 2021.
One home was with an NYPD Officer.
Another home was with an RN who had rescue experience.
Many were heartbroken when this gentle dog was killed.

A spite killing

DAMU’s videos tell his story.
Youtube   Youtube   .

An experienced advocate speaks.
This comment is from a Facebook post about Damu.

This says it all.

The killing of Thor

NYPD officers filled out adoption applications.

Thor's killing became an impetus for legislation.
Visit NYS Animal Legislation and page down.

The killing of April
Puppy April had a foster/adopter and was killed by the ACC.

NY Post

April, a puppy, was killed WITHOUT sedation. A painful death.

NY Post

The killing of Luke

Luke was killed by the ACC with 2 adopters within 18 hours after intake.

The ACC kills animals while people work hard to save their lives.

 

Adopters are poorly vetted and trained by the ACC.
This boosts adoption numbers and the ACC's Live Release Rate (LRR), but animals are regularly dumped back to the ACC or left tied to a pole on a city street. The ACC then throws them on the kill list.

Anmals dumped from the ACC foster program go straight to the ACC kill list.
The ACC Foster program has a nickname: the ACC Foster-to-Kill program. Animals in ACC Foster homes are at a great disadvantage, as they are usually dumped straight from ACC foster care onto kill lists.

Publicly adoptable AND on kill list?
"How can a dog be publicly adoptable AND at risk? This is everything that is wrong about ACC. We’ll send this dog to a good home but if we can’t find anyone to take the dog, we’ll kill them. This is not the behavior of a 'Care' Center."

ACC kills with empty cages and after the national Clear the Shelters event.
The ACC adopted out 50+ dogs during Clear the Shelters. They boasted on Twitter about their mission to end animal homelessness. All while killing railroaded animals. The ACCs jam-packed their kill lists with 15 railroaded dogs to be killed.

From Film Forum: "Come by @FilmForumNYC this Sunday, 8/18 to see the beautiful documentary "Los Reyes," meet adorable Iris (available for adoption) & hear about ACC's mission to end animal homelessness in NYC."

Kill lists on holidays.
The holidays are a time when most of the public are busy with holiday preparations or travel. It's harder to find adopters and fosters. The ACC kills regardless.

Overloaded kill lists
The ACC killed 6 sweet dogs in one afternoon from their Saturday 9-21-19 kill list. There may be altogether more than 6 that were killed.

Killing without Sedation.

Incompetent Behavior Assessors use assessments against animals.
“Behavioral Concerns” is not a legitimate reason to kill a savable pet in modern progressive systems. Most behavioral issues are training issues or the result of shelter stress. Inept assessors and their tests railroad dogs on trumped up charges, and animals are unecessarily deemed New Hope Rescue Only (NH/NHR). They are then kill-listed - for the simplest of behavior issues.

Assessments are used against animals.

Their methods of behavior evaluation are questionable since animals can't be reliably evaluated in a shelter environment where they may show fear.

Peer-Reviewed study in Journal of Veterinary Behavior
No better than flipping a coin: Reconsidering canine behavior evaluations in animal shelters

These animals are often assessed soon after arrival at the ACC - before they've had time to decompress - after whatever trauma they have just been through - being dumped, losing their family, hurt by a police catchpole, etc.

Study: Stop Killing Dogs for “Food Guarding"

Whether it's a young dog, a throwaway mama who suffered the loss of her pups, or a senior - the ACC staff prove over and over a callous disregard and lack of understanding of animals. These staffers must be replaced with competent, trained and caring animal professionals.

It is said that when the ACC assessors are deservedly criticized for failing these animals, they kill more!

ACC's caring volunteers should play an integral part in the evaluations.

Billy was killed in 2021 even though an ACC volunteer and rescues were fighting to save him.

ARL (At-Risk List) animals prove to be great pets.
People who have adopted and fostered Rescue-Only dogs from the ACC report that these dogs prove to be wonderful family dogs.

The ACC has shown a lack of understanding and respect for dog breeds.
The ACC lacks an understanding of breeds that they're not familiar with. They don't give time for breed-specific rescues to rescue and these special dogs are often killed.

Regarding RDRS, also see Trazodone section higher up on this page.

- Don't answer phones.
The ACC is known for not answering phones.

Many have reported encountering a rude response when they call.

- Adoption link for publicly adoptable is not user-friendly.
If members of the public don't know where to turn for help, they often give up, and the animals lose out.

- The ACC does bio write-ups that would turn anyone off.

- New Hope Rescue list is not updated.
In a list of 300 rescues, only a handful pull animals that are rescue only. A member of the public would have no clue which rescue they can turn to for help.

- Other people and organizations do the ACC's job.
Many people who don't work for NYCACC do a lot of the work behind the scenes. The ACC takes the credit.

Promote ACC animals:
• Share ACC animals on Social Media.
• Post in Facehook Community Groups in communities around the city.
• Create community adoption events.
• Bring ARL (At-Risk List) animals to adoption events.
• Please ask the ACC to tweet the deathrow animals including their photos.

DOHMH, NYC Mayor's Office and NYC Council and other officials should all be sharing deathrow animals on their social media, as well as regularly sponsoring adoption events.

Responsible city-wide legislation and programs are needed.
• Spay/neuter - low cost and free programs
• Ban puppy mills and backyard breeders
See: S4234
• Reduce or eliminate BSL (Breed Specific Legislation). BSL allows landlords to force tenants to give up their dogs. Pets become homeless because of human housing restrictions.

Housing issues
Many shelters now focus on helping owners with the issues that cause them to surrender pets, and there is a need for pet-friendly accommodation for homeless people:

Model legislation addresses this:
Pets Are Family Fair Housing Act
A Tenant's Guide to NYC's Pet Laws

Create a Citizens' Advisory Body
Responsible jurisdictions establish Citizens' Advisory Bodies when ACC is outsourced, so taxpayers feel represented. The ACC board answers to itself as a non-profit entity. It is not the same as an independent citizens advisory body that serves as a go-between for the ACC contractor, elected officials, and taxpayers. These are entirely two different types of boards. In New York City, citizens/taxpayers do not have have systemic ways to be represented, and no real voice in how their tax dollars are spent on animal control. Contractor answers only to itself. Google phrase "citizens animal control advisory body" to see what is customary when ACC is outsourced.

Establish an Animal Welfare Committee on the NYC Council.
See: NY Post

Tell the mayor to set up an Animal Welfare Board.
He has nothing for animals - no board or commission, which is where legislative work occurs. And noone knows where is or how to contact the mysterious Office of Animal Welfare.

Move animal control out of the NYC Department of Health (DOHMH).
Establish an Animal Welfare Department to address all matters related to animals, including sheltering. DOHMH is primarily concerned with human health, and views animals, including companion animals, primarily as vectors, or pests.

Comptroller Scott Stringer must do a more comprehensive follow up on his 2015 Audit.
For example, in his 9-2020 audit, Comptroller Stringer made little to no mention of NYC ACC's fiscally wasteful and inhumane practice of spay-neiuter-kill.
See: Audit

Update the City Charter's archaic 1894 dog law that gives the Mayor almost total control.
Progressive licensing, CAPA etc., cannot happen until the right systems are in place to implement them.

Review the new, poorly vetted 34-year animal control contract.
See: Queens Shelter

Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC)

Shelter Reform Action Committee (SRAC)

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This pic is from Voices for Shelter Animals

ShelterNotes@outlook.com

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Last modified March 2023

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