Disruption of Humane Society of New York at Star-studded Adoption Event Goes Viral

Approximately 30 animal advocates disrupted the Humane Society of New York (HSNY) when actress Bernadette Peters brought the shelter’s animal trainer onto the stage during Broadway Barks, a star-studded adoption event in NYC’s theater district. The trainer, Bill Berloni, has close relationships with many actors and actresses, including Peters, because he provides them with animals for their shows, films and commercials.

During the three months leading up to Broadway Barks, activists sent hand-written letters to Peters, explaining that animals were being warehoused at the prominent shelter and pleading with her to call on HSNY to send the animals to adoption centers that are open or to foster homes. Peters did not acknowledge the letters or social media posts in which she was tagged.

Of the dozens of media outlets that reported on the protest against the Humane Society at Broadway Barks, only Vanity Fair explained why.

In what appeared to be an effort to discredit the activists during the protest, Peters falsely stated twice that HSNY is “open for tours,” the implication being that people can visit the shelter and see for themselves that the animals are not being warehoused. Berloni, who works at HSNY, did not correct her, despite the fact that he remained on stage during the disruption.

As activists protest the warehousing of animals at the Humane Society of New York during a star-studded adoption event, actress Bernadette Peters tells audience that “anybody can take a tour of the Humane Society” despite the fact that the building has been closed to the public for 27 months. Pictured to her left is Bill Berloni, the Humane Society of New York’s animal trainer, who supplies Broadway shows with animals.

As anticipated by the protesters, several of the Broadway Barks attendees tore their posters, pushed them out of the audience and asserted that the disruption did nothing to help their cause. 

“We were not there to make friends or allies,” said Bonnie Tischler, one of the protesters who served as HSNY’s Adoption Director for 22 years before retiring in 2020. “We were there to sound the alarm about the plight of animals living indefinitely at the Humane Society of New York after being ignored for months by stakeholders in the shelter community, including Bernadette Peters.  For over two years, they have prohibited adopters from entering the building to meet the animals, all of whom deserve to find forever, loving homes.”

Online reviews and comments posted by people who attempted to rescue animals from the Humane Society of New York

Animal rights activists launched a campaign to help the animals at HSNY in October 2022 when Donny Moss of TheirTurn posted the findings of an investigation he and other advocates conducted that corroborated whistleblower allegations of animal warehousing at the prominent Manhattan shelter.  The investigation found that HSNY ignores adoption applications; lists just 14 animals on its website, despite having dozens more; does virtually no adoption promotion on social media; has no Adoption Director; and keeps the building closed to the public under false pretenses. Sandra DeFeo, the Executive Director, claims to refuse entry to outsiders due to COVID.  However, a lawyer retained by TheirTurn investigated and has determined that that HSNY cannot reopen because of ongoing violations of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) which have never been addressed; HSNY is not wheelchair accessible and has already settled one ADA lawsuit based on this violation.  If it reopens, HSNY would subject itself to another ADA lawsuit.  Notably, HSNY has not taken any steps to make the shelter accessible.

During Broadway Barks, activists distributed handouts that provided context for the protest.

In December 2021, activists began sending letters to members of the board of the Humane Society of New York to inform them of their concerns and to ask them to intervene.  James Gregorio, a board member who practices law in North Carolina, told Tischler that he would ask Sandra DeFeo for proof of adoptions. Two weeks later, he resigned from the board without providing the documentation he promised. A second attorney who received the activists’ letters, C. Jones Perry, also resigned.  

In April 2022, the activists began protesting at the home of Alexandra Rowley, another board member who also failed to deliver on her promise to provide proof that adoptions “have continued all along” despite the closure of the building to adopters.  After two protests, Rowley also resigned from the board and informed Tischler by text that she was “no longer affiliated with HSNY.”  The activists have staged three protests at her home since then.  According to Tischler, “her decision to resign did nothing to help the animals she left behind and who were warehoused on her watch for two years.”

When the the protests and the letter writing campaigns failed to have an impact, the activists knew they had to escalate their efforts on behalf of the animals. “We didn’t want to disrupt Broadway Barks, but we had to sound the alarm in a venue where the shelter leaders and supporters who had been ignoring us would be forced to listen,” said Donny Moss of TheirTurn, an organizer of the protest. “The celebrities, event attendees and those who read about the protests in the media are now aware of and talking about the issue.”

The Humane Society of New York has been closed to the public for 27 months and under false pretenses. It’s not closed because of COVID, as HSNY claims. It is  closed due to ADA violations.

For their part, the activists say they will continue to advocate on behalf of the animals with or without the assistance of people who have the power to help.

“While HSNY puts up roadblocks at every turn to prevent people from adopting, the animals continue to languish in cages,” said Matthew Schwartz, an organizer of the protest whose own adoption application was ignored by HSNY. “HSNY must send them to foster homes or shelters that are open to adopters. Until it does, the protests will continue.”

Animal rights activists have protested Humane Society of New York Board member Alexandra Rowley over the warehousing of animals