Dr. Michelle Morse Silent on Brazen Cruelty at NYC DOH's ACC
Morse's agency ignored queries about squalid conditions and deadly abuse witnessed at ACC Queens.
The Scoop New York is a website and newsletter covering the movement for a true no-kill New York State, from BUF to BK. NYC ACC KILLS, published by TSNY, enumerates and memorializes adoptable cats and dogs who were exterminated by Animal Care Centers of New York City.
Headlines from Buffalo to Brooklyn
It’s July 18, 2025. This is The Weekly Poop.
This week, Dr. Michelle Morse, who as acting commissioner of the city health department oversees the non-profit contractor currently known as Animal Care Centers of New York City, ducked queries from The Scoop New York related to a damning New York Post story that reported deadly cruelty caught on video at DOH’s newest ACC outpost, in Queens.
That story, published on July 6 with three bylines, also revealed that ACC Queens remains a literal shit show a year after Morse’s agency opened the $75 million facility.
The Post story came about a year after the tab reported similar conditions shortly after the Queens ACC location opened its doors (a Post “exclusive” everywhere 22 comes before 20).
“Individual kennels are supposed to be cleaned each time a dog is walked, according to a worker at the Animal Care Centers of New York site in Ridgewood,” the Post reports. “But none were cleaned during a recent visit from The Post after several dogs were walked for about 5 minutes.
“The dogs were simply returned to their reeking cages filled with piles of excrement.”
Further down, this month’s Post story reads, “The insider said some of the animals only get their first walk of the day around 11 a.m. or noon after waiting upwards of 12 hours.”
In sum: Twelve hours waiting in piss and shit for five minutes of relief — then back to the piss and shit.
It gets worse. The story notes the constant presence of contagions, such as kennel cough in dogs, that are allowed to run rampant at DOH/ACC, infecting cats and dogs with illness that condemns them to extermination by the same people whose negligence made them sick. Dogs are also put to death for going stir crazy in their cramped cages, a staffer told the Post.
The worker shared a harrowing case of a cat “left to bleed for three days” after being neutered in ACC care and who died.
More than a dozen animals died in the shelter system’s care in April — three dogs, nine cats and two guinea pigs — not including the 129 animals it euthanized [sic] in the same month.
This is prima facie cruelty, of the sort that “hoarders” and other animal abusers are prosecuted for every day. The abuse described in this single Post exposé is at least as severe as alleged offenses underpinning many cruelty cases I have followed since TSNY began publishing. It is also the everyday reality for animals held at DOH/ACC death houses across the city.
As DOH and ACC expend markedly more effort on CYA than TLC, excuses were at the ready. Short on staff (a year later), overpopulation (half the number of pre-COVID intakes), New Yorkers hate cats and dogs and don’t want them in their homes anymore (OK Risa), blah blah blah-bitty blah.
They even had an excuse for what they did to San Andreas, a dog who was choked by ACC staff until he reportedly vomited and collapsed — an incident that would never have come to light had a witness not captured it on video.
“Neither of these employees in the video bothered to make sure the dog was doing well after he collapsed, besides the young lady petting him after watching him choke out,” the bystander told The Post.
The pitbull mix, named San Andreas, has “no apparently medical concerns” from the incident, an ACC rep said — adding the event was related to “intense jumping and leash biting, which may have been exacerbated by external factors, such as pedestrians and nearby distractions.”
So the same people who almost choked San Andreas to death in front of G-d and everybody — apparently while failing to use a harness — now claim (a) choked-out dog’s fault!, and (b) choked-out dog is just fine! Who you gonna believe? An unnamed professional bullshitter for an historically corrupt and inept outfit that calls itself a “care center” but exterminates like Orkin and loves sunshine like Nosferatu, or your own lyin’ eyes?
The Scoop New York asked DOH and ACC what steps they have taken to remedy dangerous and abusive conditions at the ACC facility in Queens since the latest New York Post ACC exposé. We also asked for the current whereabouts and condition of San Andreas. There was no response.
TSNY tried to raise City Council Member Lynn Schulman, who chairs the council health committee, which is supposed to supervise DOH and ACC but under Schulman is openly hostile to reform of any kind. We did not hear back.
The Scoop New York queried Alvin Bragg, district attorney of Manhattan, where ACC keeps its headquarters, about the Post story as well as inhumane conditions at ACC generally, and whether the DA’s office is investigating. The message went unreturned.
Who you gonna believe? An unnamed professional bullshitter for an historically corrupt and inept outfit that calls itself a “care center” but exterminates like Orkin and loves sunshine like Nosferatu, or your own lyin’ eyes?
We did hear back from council member and self-professed friend of the animals Robert Holden, from Queens.
“While the ACC facility in question is not within his district, Council Member Holden is an outspoken animal advocate and is actively engaging both DOHMH and ACC leadership to ensure that these dangerous and abusive conditions are immediately addressed,” a Holden spokesperson said via email. “The truth is, for too long, city government has treated animal welfare as an afterthought. That must change. We have a moral obligation to protect those who cannot speak for themselves.”
Couldn’t have said it better.
Like Sebastian Bolanos, the ACC higher-up for some reason in charge of veterinary care, Dr. Morse does not have a DVM. But as a distinguished Ivy-educated internist, she damn sure understands the scope of the suffering being dealt at ACC. Like everyone else, she has access to the kill-quota data. Finally, she is certainly aware of the countless New Yorkers whose mental health, which Morse is also charged with giving a shit about, suffers 24/7/365 precisely due to what she herself allows to go on at the city kill pound. Like her every predecessor since Giuliani time, Morse’s selective attitude toward her duties inflicts real pain upon New Yorkers every hour of every day.
First do no harm, unless you get paid to deny said harm is being done. And if Morse is somehow unaware of the sickening, bloody, shitty, pissy atrocities committed on her watch, she is no less guilty of failing at her job.
The Scoop New York will follow up with Council Member Holden’s office concerning the latest reported DOH/ACC scandal in the coming weeks.
Here’s the latest New York companion animal news:
You can love companion animals or you can love watching their adoptive families terrorized by the federal government, but not both.
Andrew Cuomo will continue his campaign to smite his enemies and New Yorkers in general.
Related: Hell Gate went deep on NYC GOP mayoral hopeful, Guardian Angels co-founder, media provocateur and feline evangelist Curtis Sliwa.
Watch the Malik Evans administration try to spin the fact that veterinarians are not interested in working at Rochester Animal Services.
Cove Animal Rescue in Glen Cove is in dire need of fiscal assistance and Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck thinks that's just precious.
A Central Park horse carriage operator is on trial for misdemeanor cruelty charges for alleged “alleged” abuse of Ryder, who collapsed under the whip in August 2022 and was euthanized a few months later.
Officials in Orange County are seeking tips after a seriously injured kitten was saved from the middle of a country road in Chester — the second such known incident in the county in the past year.
No charges were immediately filed after authorities found a dead dog and many malnourished ones in a condemned house in Lansingburgh.
“We were on the phone with the police. They said, ‘We’re gonna shoot him.’”
Pit bull mix Perry was rescued from elevated subway tracks in Queens and placed in mortal danger at quota-killing NYC DOH’s ACC.
Construction next door is upsetting the horses housed at the Prospect Park Stable in Kensington, Brooklyn.
The New York State Bar Association is promoting efforts to help victims of landlords and domestic abusers keep their pets.
And finally: Horse racing still = cockfighting + better PR.
Adoptables
The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens has teamed with rescuers to host “one of the largest rescue events of the summer” on Sunday.
NYC ACC will hold two mobile adoption events in Brooklyn this weekend.
Described as "a big lovebug with a heart as soft as a marshmallow," 10-year-old shorthair Heidi is awaiting her forever home at SPCA Serving Erie County in West Seneca.
Pit mix Dior is less than a year old and has spent most of her life in a shelter. A playful pup, she “loves experiences and adventures, and she would thrive in an active family.” Lucky for you, Dior is available at Central New York SPCA in Syracuse.
Find New York adoptables near you on Dogs in Danger and Adopt a Pet.
The Scoop New York attempts to confirm that animals are still available before we feature them in The Weekly Poop. If an animal you see here has already found a home, consider asking about other available adoptables.
Food recalls
The FDA has announced one new pet food recall in July:
Payback Champion Lamb Text B30 With Power Booster (elevated levels of copper)
Check here for info on earlier recalls.