Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time Their Turn - The Social Justice Movement of Our Time

Activists Protest INSIDE Office of NY Blood Center Board Member Owen Garrick

January 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment


The News

Owen Garrick, a businessman based in Oakland, California, ignored all of the courteous letters and emails asking for a meeting to discuss the 66 chimps abandoned in Liberia by the New York Blood Center, where he serves on the board. It should therefore have come as no surprise to him when local animal rights activists showed up at his desk wielding a banner and posters and staged a disruption in the lobby of his building.

Owen Garrick looks up from his desk to see activists holding a banner and posters with his face.

Owen Garrick looks up from his desk to find activists with a banner and posters displaying his name and face

Only the activists didn’t visit Garrick’s place of business to talk because he had already made it clear that he wasn’t amenable. Instead, they showed up to educate his co-workers and neighbors about the moral crime he committed by leaving chimps to die and to inform Garrick that they will continue to protest until he and his colleagues at the NY Blood Center fulfill their promise to provide the chimps with lifelong care.

When protesters confronted Garrick in his office, his only verbal reaction was, “I’m going to get security.” He did, however, deliver a palpable non-verbal cue — bewilderment about how to handle a group of activists staging a loud protest in the lobby of his building during the lunchtime rush.

Owen Garrick paced back and forth as activists protested in the lobby

Owen Garrick paced back and forth as activists protested in the lobby

Owen Garrick paces lobby while activists stage disruption

Owen Garrick paces the lobby while activists stage disruption

The activists suspected that Garrick was especially alarmed by the disruption being staged in his name because of his apparent effort to remain anonymous in the building. In the company directory in the lobby, his business, Bridge Clinical Research, is not listed. What is listed is a charity created by Garrick and his wife. Did Garrick intentionally leave his business off of the building directory because he is running it out of the office of his charity?

Did Owen Garrick intentionally leave his company, Bridge Clinical Research, off of the lobby directory because he is working out of his charity's office, which is listed?

Owen Garrick’s company, Bridge Clinical Research, is not listed on his building’s directory

And why does Garrick use different suite numbers for the same office – Suite 013 and Suite LL13?

Owen Garrick runs his company out of the office of his charity.

Owen Garrick runs his company out of the office of his charity

Primatologist Bob Ingersoll confronts Owen Garrick in his office

Primatologist Bob Ingersoll confronts Owen Garrick in his office

Your Turn

Please call Owen Garrick at the following two numbers, and ask him to reinstate funding for the chimps who he left to die with no food or water:
(510) 251-0490
(510) 835-1747

OWEN-GARRICK-POSTER-2



Comments via Facebook

TheirTurn.net Comments

  1. You guys are dumb says:

    Oh this one, ok, so decades ago NYBC funded , sponsored research over in , Liberia I think, ok so with all the crying about researching on animals, um bunch of civil wars over there, yada yada, the chimps where sent to a six island sanctuary, along with a bunch other chimps that needed sanctuary for all kinds of reason. By the way this research led to vaccines and things, It was not failure at all, ok, so twenty years ago someone at the NYBC said they would take of these chimps forever when the research was done, they didn’t have the ok to make that promise, and like five years ago NYBC asked for help from different groups and Liberia who actually own and are responsible for the chimps. Telling Liberia and the certain groups , that their charitable donations to the sanctuary will be ending, because they need the resources for” dumb “things like research to save humans from diseases . So now the AR are making untrue claims, the chimps have no water, not true, they are starving, not true, they are not being cared for, not true. Does the sanctuary need money and help, of course, all sanctuaries do. So I guess it’s a debate on who is suppose to help with these chimps, but they never actually belonged to the NYBC, tons of conflicting info on it, you can go on the NYBC website, and they give info on it and their position.

    1. Donny Moss says:

      You are misinformed. NYBC created this captive chimp population and earned $500 million in royalties off of the research conducted on these chimps. Then, they attempted to shift the responsibility for caring for these chimps to other institutions that had nothing to do with the research and don’t have an extra $30,000/month for the indefinite future. You are obviously connected to NYBC because what they have done is indefensible.

    2. Barbara Stiles says:

      You have NOT kept up with the information available on the web. I have 3 receipts, with the names of the chimps & the amt paid made to Vilab/NYBC. There are links after links of info I can send you if you reply. The chimps have made NYBC Half a Billion Dollars from the blood sterilization techniques. (Remember when AIDS hit in the 80’s and people got infected due to blood transfusions? Thank the chimps that were infected with HIV/AIDs for the safe transfusions we have today!) The money made was also from the Hep B & C…vaccinations that save MILLIONS of human lives worldwide daily! Thank the chimps. The medical research protocol is to not euthanize great apes used in medical testing…so NYBC put their chimps out to starve and die from dehydration in the African heat. THIS IS MUCH MORE INHUMANE THAN PUTTING THEM TO SLEEP BUT NYBC DIDN’T WANT TO LOOK BAD TO THEIR PEERS!!! Please research before commenting. NYBC hired poachers to get baby chimps in the 70’s AND PAID THEM. (Bullets entire family was killed as they fought to save him from capture!) NYBC bought “pet” chimps from poor Liberians for research AND PAID THEM.(read what Betsy Brotman, head of Vilab – NYBC Chimp Research for 30+ years has to say! She calls it “Unethical” and that is one of the nicest terms she uses. SHE WAS THERE AT THE START. Her husband was shot dead in front of her & their young daughter trying to protect the chimps…and now NYBC won’t even pay for bananas, water, and coconuts???) The new Board isn’t doing what the founders planned! They are GREEDY beyond belief. Until they give Liberia the HALF A BILLION DOLLARS THE CHIMPS HAVE MADE, the chimps will remain “The NYBC Chimps”. If NYBC gives Liberia half a billion, they might be the Liberian chimps. I have to think about that one!

    3. Barbara Stiles says:

      To “You Guys Are Dumb” This isn’t about the chimps, but it IS about the Board. NYBC Boardmember Harriet Edelman works as Vice Chairman at Howard Milstein’s bank, Emigrant Bank. What chance does she have of saying “No” to anything her boss asks her to do? (Milstein runs NYBC.) She was on the infamous Hershey Board that was fired overnight, KICKED OUT, due to their lack of concern for the Hershey Orphanage and School. (Mr.Hershey set up a Trust to make sure the orphanage & school were top priority.) The Board was KICKED OUT DUE TO LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE ORPHANS. She is showing the same lack of concern for chimps, but what the heck. They are just animals & if she won’t care for human children, why would she care for animals? The NYBC Board is filled with such people. Most multi-millionaires. Pres. Hillyer started a private blood business a few years ago. His ONE apartment is worth more than he makes in a year at NYBC…and he has so many residences I couldn’t keep them straight! I imagine he is making his money from technology gained from the chimp tests. You would think he would care for them, since they have made him a multi-millionaire. Many on this Board pretty much are “jerks” to put it nicely. Some made rich by the chimps. I’M GLAD HERSHEY’S HAD A PLAN TO GET RID OF PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT FOLLOWING THE FOUNDERS PLANS! It is a shame NYBC didn’t have that foresight. They thought their wishes and plans would be followed!

    4. Barbara Stiles says:

      This will be my last comment to you – I didn’t see your note to “go to NYBC site for information”. Are you aware Pres. Hillyer put out a Press Release a while ago about the chimps? NYBC REMOVED IT IN TWO DAYS due to inaccuracies and falsehoods. We are lucky to have screen shots and “saved” versions, showing his lies. Your comment to go to NYBC site for info is about as bright as telling someone to go to the Nazis during WWII for info on what was happening. You must work for NYBC. Bye.

    5. GW says:

      Hey, bonehead. They aren’t starving because the animal rights community is paying for their food. Before the animal rights community intervened, they were starving because NYBC subjected them to a starvation diet before abandoning them. One of the board members is a BILLIONAIRE. In one evening, NYBC brought in millions of dollars. You are telling me they can’t afford $30,000 a year to feed our closest relatives who they literally used and abused? Who they profited from? Too bad your mommy and daddy never taught you empathy and compassion. Or to be a decent human being.

    6. GW says:

      Dear Imbecile,

      Because you are morally and ethically stunted, I am sharing with you an example of what good, kind, responsible and caring people look like. Hopefully, your snarky and childish attitude won’t get in the way of your learning something.

      http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2016/01/in-liberia-coming-to-the-rescue-of-chimps-abandoned-by-ny-blood-center.html

  2. Barbara Stiles says:

    Great article. I am posting on the animal sites. The info is extremely interesting. Just as a FYI, I was ranting to a friend about how much of a “jerk” Garrick appeared to be in the video. My friend said he was just doing what their attorneys told him…TIL HE SAW THE VIDEO! (My friend doesn’t make many calls. When he saw Garrick in the video, he picked up his phone & called. He is calling every day now). He was not happy with Garrick’s demeanor and asked “How does NYBC find all these pompous Narcissists for their Board? The video you posted caused a 78 year old non-activist to join in the phone calling. THANK YOU! Garrick is his own worst enemy.

  3. Dominique says:

    Great Work, Love it! Thank you!

Comments are closed.