Ridgewood junkyard proposed as site of Queens ACC

A bulletin from the DEC revealed that 151 Woodward Ave, near Flushing Ave in Ridgewood, is proposed as the site for a full service animal shelter for the borough of Queens. All other boroughs either have a full service shelter or are in the process of building one. Queens was the last one to be addressed. There is a plan to site an intake center at the corner of 69th Street and Metropolitan Ave in Middle Village in the meantime, to replace the Rego Park drop off center.

Details about the cleanup are here.

There are several ways to comment on BCP applications. Comments can be submitted to the site Project Manager Sarah Quandt at NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-7016; via email at sarah.quandt@dec.ny.gov or by calling 518-402-9768. All comments must be submitted by March 1, 2019.

Looking to adopt the Ridgewood cats?

From CBS:

On Tuesday, Animal Control replaced the usual construction crews. CBS2’s cameras were rolling as five cats were rescued.

But when Bauman tried asking the building’s owner why construction went on for so long with so many furry tenants inside, there was no response.

“There was no way they started tearing down this whole building and never saw these close to 40 cats,” O’Neill said.

“At some point, you see them somewhere,” Aguirre said.

Animal Control told CBS2 they will continue to leave traps and safety remove animals until it is clear all the cats are out of the building. And until then, construction is on hold.

The volunteers are still trying to find home for many of the cats. To find out how you can adopt, click here.

Kinkajou captured

From the Queens Chronicle:

The kinkajou that had been spotted in a tree in Broad Channel near the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Center was caught on Wednesday and is under the care of the Animal Care & Control of NYC, according to a National Parks Service spokeswoman.

An email forwarded to the Queens Chronicle from a member of Northeastbirding.com states that the tropical critter had wandered away from the tree it called home for close to a week and was found just south of the visitors' center.

"It was asleep when found, so the capture was easy," the email reads.

An NPS spokeswoman later confirmed the animal's capture and added that it was handed over to the city's animal control unit.

Audit finds major problems at animal shelters

From NBC:

Operators of New York's animal shelters are administering expired drugs to dogs and cats, failing to maintain safe conditions and neglecting their financial records, according to an audit conducted by the city comptroller's office.

"Animal care and control is running an operation that could make your stomach turn," Comptroller Scott Stringer said Sunday in a news release. "We found expired drugs, harmful conditions and vaccines stored next to frozen remains."

Auditors examined conditions at animal shelters from March to November of last year. A records review revealed 499 occasions in which expired drugs were given to animals and that 92 bottles of expired drugs -- some as old as 13 years -- had not been removed from shelves, the auditors reported.

Animal Care & Control, a non-profit corporation, has a five-year, $51.9 million contract with the city to operate animal shelters in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island. It also operates animal receiving centers in the Bronx and Queens.

City looking at animal facility for Queens

From the Daily News:

A plan to convert a veterinarian’s office into the new Queens drop-off point for stray animals has raised the hackles of some animal lovers.

The city wants to move its animal receiving center, operated by NYC Animal Care and Control, from its current spot in Rego Park to the veterinarian’s office at 185-17 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica.

“This receiving center is nothing more than a holding pen to take already frightened animals to their shelters,” said Susan Cleary, a member of Community Board 8 who voted against the proposal when it went before the board’s zoning committee two weeks ago.

But the Health Department said the move would “significantly upgrade” animal control services in the borough.

Are Bronx and Queens strays out of luck?

From the Daily News:

City health officials are promising to renovate a small Bronx animal receiving center and relocate a Queens facility for stray and homeless animals.

But it's little comfort, advocates say, for the only two boroughs lacking full-service animal shelters.

The City Council is weighing a bill that pumps more money into the budget-ravaged New York City Animal Care & Control in return for repealing part of a law that requires full-service shelters in all five boroughs.

That would boost the AC&C budget to over $12 million by fiscal year 2014, a 77% increase over current funding, said Daniel Kass, deputy commissioner at the Health Department.

But that's not sitting well with some elected officials.

"This seems like a form of extortion," Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said at a hearing last week on the bill. "I can't allow the animals and the people in the Bronx and Queens to be treated differently."

The new bill is especially painful for Vallone. His father, Peter Vallone Sr., sponsored the law it would partially repeal.

More money for homeless pets

From the Daily News:

Though plans to build new animal shelters for Queens and the Bronx have been scrapped, city officials promised both boroughs will see more money and services to care for its homeless pets.

That includes - for the first time in years - additional mobile animal control officers to pick up stray dogs and cats.

Field services and animal shelter hours were slashed in recent years due to deep city budget cuts. NYC Animal Care and Control was forced to stop picking up stray cats and taking lost-animal reports.

The city announced a plan last week to pump more money into its contract with the nonprofit AC&C - about $10 million over the next three years.

But there's a catch - no new shelters for Queens and the Bronx.

Under a law passed in 2000, the city was obligated to provide full-service animal shelters in all five boroughs. Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island already had facilities, but only part-time receiving centers existed in the Bronx and Queens.

College Point pig heads for greener pastures

From the Daily News:

A friendly, 58-pound pig - plucked off a Queens street on Father's Day - is heading to greener pastures.

The stray swine, named Wilbur by the city's Animal Care & Control staff, was found wandering around 31st Ave. and College Point Blvd. in College Point.

Police easily corralled the porky pedestrian into a carrier and brought him to ACC's Manhattan shelter.

"The pig cooperated," said ACC spokesman Richard Gentles. "He was unharmed and uninjured, but he was dirty and smelled like grease and oil."

While uncommon, it's not unheard of for cops and animal control officers to wrangle sheep, cows, goats and other unusual critters off city streets. Some are escapees from livestock markets while others are pets.

Gentles said Wilbur won't find his way on to someone's dinner plate. Instead, he is going to live at a sanctuary outside the city.

Also, the Queens County Farm Museum has stopped selling pork.

Saving pets from death row

From the Daily News:

Homeless animals on Death Row at shelters across the state could get a better chance of survival with new legislation under review in Albany.

The bill, unveiled by Assemblyman Micah Kellner last week, would make it tougher for shelter officials to bar rescue groups from taking these unwanted cats and dogs.

"Rescue groups want to get ahold of these animals and find them a forever home," said Kellner (D-Manhattan). "Right now it is up to the discretion of the shelter which groups they allow in."

Some advocates fear the bill would allow hoarders and irresponsible rescuers to pull the homeless pets without oversight.

The bill is especially important in New York City, Kellner said, where thousands of stray cats and dogs are killed every year because there is not enough shelter space to hold them or people to adopt them.

Rescue groups step in and pull unwanted animals out of shelters to prevent them from being euthanized. Some groups have their own facilities or use foster homes to house these dogs and cats until they can be adopted.

Long-promised full-time shelters in Queens and the Bronx have never been built, meaning all stray animals are brought to facilities in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

R.I.P. Frosty

Earlier tonite around 9pm ish I was on my FB page and noticed a post from Tina - she posted that she drove past a pit bull dead in the street, he was inside a garbage bag, his head and a portion of his body was exposed and more about a fighting ring nearby. I immediately posted back to her, and asked what the address was - she replied 84th Street and 107th Avenue (Ozone Park Queens) near the cemetery - I grabbed my scanner, blanket, gloves, and my friend Annie and drove... my heart was racing.

I drove up and there he was, laying 3 feet from the curb - on a two way street, with a fine layer of snow on him, he was frozen.

I moved back the bag to look him over after, he wasn't a bait dog, all his limbs were in place, no gun shot wounds, no bite marks and no blood anywhere, he lay in a fetal position and his eyes closed - his mouth closed.

I scanned him, no chip, no tags, no collars and he was unaltered. I did see some patches of hair missing on him - maybe mange? alopecia? and he did have some calluses on his elbows. He was a very handsome dog, Tan, big skull, but his hinds were on the skinny side, I could see his ribs a little - maybe 3-5 years old at most.

I broke down.. I don't know how in the world someone can toss their pet on the side of the road in a garbage bag, the bag was not even tied. Did he freeze to death or
die of natural causes? (I cant get into bed if my three are not at my side.. wtf)

Drivers drove past, some stopping and shouting.. "hes been there since yesterday" - MY RESPONSE.. THANKS FOR THE INFO ("asshole")

This situation was an awakening for me to see what exactly one is up against here in NYC in a situation like this.

I began making calls, I called 911 and they told me they couldn't assist, I called 311 and was told there's a 48 hour response time, I called the Emergency Clinic and was told they won't hold dead animals overnight. I even called the Queens ASPCA Cruelty Officer Lai and my call went to voice mail.

Had "Frosty" - that's the name I gave him - as he was covered in frost - had he been mutilated, mauled, missing limbs, crushed head, multiple bite wounds, I would have driven him to the ASPCA for investigation reasons.

So, we picked up frosty, I wrapped him in a blue suede blanket, put him in my back seat and took him to the Sanitation dept, against my best wishes.. ACC is closed.. and where can I keep him?

My only thought was to get him out of the street, allow him some dignity.

People get away with doing things like this because they can, the system fails. What if a child had seen that dog in the street for two days - is that what we are offering the youth of America? This is how we love, respect and appreciate God's creatures? Is this the message we are sending? What about a DOH issue in regards to disease?

They slashed the budget and this is what we as rescuers do.

I am now learning this is the second dog dumped there in less then 2 months, one was dumped on Pitkin and 107th - just a block away.

Here is a pic of Frosty Boy..

RIP FROSTY

- Phyllis

Animal Care and Control?

From Eyewitness News:

There's new controversy surrounding the city-contracted animal shelter, Animal Care and Control.

Eyewitness News recently reported on allegations of widespread neglect, and now, there is evidence that adoptable animals are being killed on a daily basis because of overcrowding and budget cuts by the City's Department of Health.

Kimmie the cat was just hours away from being killed, and her litter of unborn kittens was scheduled to die with her.

Thankfully, Darcy Baia of Mahopac, New York came to their rescue.

"So you took her to the vet, and the vet said?" Eyewitness News Investigative reporter Sarah Wallace asked.

"The vet said she's perfectly healthy," Baia said.

Kimmie, a stray, had ended up on the euthanasia list at New York City's Animal Care and Control, a nonprofit charity, contracted by the Department of Health to operate three shelters, in Harlem, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

"She was sneezing and had a cold and they kill for that. They were going to kill her and her babies and she was full term," Baia said.

Animals are routinely killed for upper respiratory infections that they often get in the shelter.

They're fine when they arrive.

There's a Facebook Group dedicated to saving condemned animals.