How the NYC Charter Fight Could Help Homeless Companion Animals
There are two ways the dispute between Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council could benefit animals at NYC ACC.
Note: Rather than spending last week on the road collecting material for stories, as planned, I spent it on the sofa recovering from vertigo. Hence this week’s abbreviated schedule. I will be taking a long-planned vacation next week. TSNY will resume its normal publishing schedule the week of July 8. Thank you. – BA
Headlines from Buffalo to Brooklyn
It’s June 28, 2024. This is The Weekly Poop.
This week, the New York City Charter Revision Commission released its preliminary report, detailing proposed changes to the city’s guiding document. Some of those proposals may be decided by city voters in November, in the form of ballot referenda.
It is not unusual for a New York City mayor to convene a charter revision commission. But the timing, in this case, raised eyebrows and hackles alike.
Mayor Adams, see, announced his commission at the same time the City Council was working to expand its influence over the appointment of city department heads. The bill to give the council “advice and consent” power over 20 additional commissioners (the council already has a say in many appointments) received nearly unanimous support from council members, but because it would require a change to the city charter, the question must be put to voters directly. And by forming his own charter commission, the mayor could bump the council’s referendum off the 2024 ballot.
This contrived conflict is, understandably, not sitting well with City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation), who says the mayor’s sudden interest in amending the charter “has made a mockery of a very serious process.”
“[T]he Commission has shown a lack of understanding of the legislative process, the charter, and the law, or is intentionally failing to provide the public with total clarity,” Speaker Adams said in a statement. “This is a poorly constructed attempt to attack the City Council and its oversight of the executive branch … when the Council is fighting to protect New Yorkers from the mayor’s excessive budget cuts.”
You don’t have to be a seasoned political observer to get what Mayor Adams is up to here, and there is talk that if necessary the council may sue to get its referendum on this year’s ballot. Regardless, with the charter commission moving forward, companion animal advocates are urging fellow New Yorkers to take action.
Voices for Shelter Animals wants the charter commission to add a Department of Animal Welfare to the November ballot. The new department would be devoted to managing NYC animal control. NYC ACC currently operates under the guidance of the health department, which is responsible for three decades of carnage there – and counting.
This transition was supposed to happen five years ago, until the City Council and then-mayor Bill de Blasio watered down the enabling legislation to the point that the animal welfare “department” was reduced to a single, ceremonial position within City Hall, thereby maintaining the status quo.
There are multiple ways to provide testimony to the mayor’s charter revision commission. Here’s the schedule of remaining hearings, accessible in person as well as through Zoom. You can also email comments to the commission until July 12 at 5:00 p.m.
The council referendum, whether it happens this year or next, also presents a potential upside. If it passes, the public will have an opportunity, via the City Council, to weigh in on future leaders of the health department, whose commissioners up to now have cared not one whit about what happens to the city’s homeless companion animals.
Here’s the latest New York companion animal news:
Paging Kathy Hochul: Elmore SPCA, in Peru, is about to drastically reduce intakes to comply with pending state shelter standards, leaving homeless animals in several communities with no place to go.
The SPCA of Northern New York was temporarily closed due to an outbreak of multiple illnesses.
NYPD confiscated six “in distress” puppies from a woman who was trying to sell them from a backpack in Queens.
Gizmo the cat falls nine stories, is barely hurt. Meanwhile, a cat in Harlem disappeared after being stuck in a tree for five days.
Bird flu is spreading to cats and dogs.
Gothamist has tips on caring for pets in the summer heat, which is no joke.
Dogs are being enlisted to help sell NYC apartments.
Good stuff: The Associated Press interviewed an end-of-life care vet.
Research shows dogs in shelter environments are adopted more quickly when they are paired up.
Strong Island Animal Rescue is just showing off now.
Food recalls
The FDA has recalled BARKWORTHIES and BEST BULLY STICKS, which "may contain metal objects."
Sunseed Vita Prima hedgehog food was recalled due to possible salmonella contamination.