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

July 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

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.

Handout explains why animal rights activists are protesting the Humane Society of New YOrk

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


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Amid Animal Warehousing Protests, Humane Society of New York Board Member Alexandra Rowley Resigns

May 11, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

Alexandra Rowley has resigned from the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of New York (HSNY) amid protests against animal warehousing at the prominent Manhattan shelter. Her resignation comes five days after animal rights activists staged a second protest at her home on the East Side of Manhattan. She is the third board member to resign since March 2022.

TapInto Sutton Place/Lenox Hill reports that Alexandra Rowley resigned from the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of New York

Between March and May, 348 animal advocates sent letters to Rowley and several of her colleagues on HSNY’s board, calling on them to re-open the building to the public or send the animals to foster homes or other adoption centers. Instead of addressing the concerns raised in the letters, Rowley asked Bonnie Tischler, HSNY’s former Adoption Director of 22 years, to use her influence with the advocates to shut down the letter writing campaign. Tischler said she would comply if Rowley provided proof of adoptions since HSNY closed the building to the public in April 2020. After committing to provide Tischler with that information, Rowley stopped communicating with her.

On April 16th and May 2nd, dozens of animal rights activists staged protests at Rowley’s home, hoping that she would listen if they delivered their message through a bullhorn. During the protests, activists had discussions with and distributed information to dozens of people who live in her building and on her block. While some of Rowley’s neighbors expressed frustration about the noise, others thanked the advocates for speaking out against animal cruelty.

Three members of the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of New York have resigned amid protests against animal warehousing at the prominent Manhattan shelter. (From top to bottom: James Gregorio, C. Jones Perry, Alexandra Rowley)

Given the close proximity of Rowley’s home to HSNY, several of her neighbors told the protesters that they are aware that HSNY is closed to the public because they see people congregating in front of the building, which houses a low-cost vet clinic in addition to the shelter. Unlike adopters, who can meet animals at other shelters, many of the vet clinic clients have no choice but to use HSNY. Some of the neighbors acknowledged that HSNY’s continued use of COVID as an excuse to keep the building closed to the public makes no sense. 

TapInto Sutton Place/Lenox Hill, an local media outlet, has reported on the animal warehousing protests at the home of Humane Society of New York board member Alexandra Rowley

One pedestrian who came upon the protest told Tischler, the former Adoption Director, that she attempted to adopt a cat from HSNY but was told she couldn’t enter the building to find one that would be a good match for her. She said the protest validated her concern that the animals aren’t being seen by potential adopters. 

In response to an Instagram post about a protest at her NYC home, Humane Society of New York board member Alexandra Rowley describes activists as “bullies” and suggests that they have ulterior motives

In an apparent effort to shut down the protests, Rowley’s husband, Stephen Wallis, came outside to speak to Tischler. During their exchange, which was caught on camera, Wallis asked Tischler if she believed the protests were “right,” as in appropriate. Tischler responded by telling Wallis to urge his wife to “open the building,” which has been closed for more than two years, so that adopters could meet the animals. 

Stephen Wallis, the husband of Humane Society of New York (HSNY) board member Alexandra Rowley, confronts Bonnie Tischler, HSNY's former Adoption Director, about the protest in front of their building

Stephen Wallis, the husband of Humane Society of New York (HSNY) board member Alexandra Rowley, confronts Bonnie Tischler, HSNY’s former Adoption Director, about the protest in front of his building

On May 7th, five days after the protest, Rowley sent a one sentence text message to Tischler, stating, “I am no longer affiliated with the HSNY.” The news did not appease Tischler and the other activists. Her decision to resign, Tischler says, “does nothing to help the animals who she left behind and who were warehoused on her watch.”

From March to May 2022, 348 people sent letters to Alexandra Rowley and several of her colleagues on the board of the Humane Society of New York calling on them to re-open the building to adopters or send the animals to adoption centers that are open to the public.

Activists launched the campaign to help the warehoused animals in October 2021, after TheirTurn corroborated whistleblower allegations that the shelter was closed to the public under false pretenses; that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill; and that the animals were being warehoused. The Executive Director of the shelter, Sandra DeFeo, has denied the allegations, telling Donny Moss of TheirTurn that HSNY has been “doing adoptions all along” since closing the building to the public. When Moss suggested that she send the animals to foster homes until she re-opens the building, DeFeo told him that “HSNY is their foster home” and that the animals are “well taken care of” in their cages, which she described as “apartments.”

Animal rights activists call on Humane Society of New York board member Alexandra Rowley to stop warehousing animals at the prominent Manhattan shelter

Animal rights activists call on Humane Society of New York board member Alexandra Rowley to stop warehousing animals at the prominent Manhattan shelter

The activists say they intend to continue protesting at Alexandra Rowley’s building until she issues a statement that denounces the animal warehousing and calls on HSNY to either re-open the building to adopters or send the animals to other adoption facilities. The activists are also demanding that HSNY post all photos and bios of their animals online so that people know they exist.


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Activists Protest Humane Society of NY Board Member Alexandra Rowley Over Animal Warehousing

April 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

Prompted by verified reports of animal warehousing at the Humane Society of New York (HSNY), approximately 30 animal rights activists staged a protest at the Manhattan home of one of its board members, Alexandra Rowley. While chanting, marching and playing the bagpipes, the activists called on Rowley to re-open the shelter to the public and resume adoptions in earnest or send the animals to other adoption centers. The protest came nine months after a whistleblower at the shelter informed animal advocates that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill and that the animals had been languishing in cages for months, and, in many cases, years.

TAPinto Sutton Place/Lenox Hill, a local media outlet, filmed the activists protesting at Rowley’s home and marching to the shelter, which is two blocks away. It also posted an in-depth story about the protest and the campaign to help the animals.

During a briefing before the protest, Bonnie Tischler, the former Adoption Director of 22 years, spoke to the activists about the plight of the animals and the management culture that enables warehousing to take place. She noted that the shelter features just 14 animals on its website, despite having dozens more who need homes. She also explained that HSNY’s claim that the shelter is closed to the public due to COVID is misleading, as re-opening could subject the organization to another Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit. Before the pandemic, HSNY settled a lawsuit filed by a man who could not safely access the building in a wheelchair. Despite having ample resources, HSNY has neither renovated the building to make it ADA-compliant nor filed permits with the NYC Department of Buildings to do the work.

In January 2022, Tischler sent letters to HSNY’s board members, including the famous socialite Cornelia Guest, pleading with them to re-open the building to the public. During phone calls with board members Alexandra Rowley and James Gregorio, Tischler said she would call off the campaign if they provided evidence that adoptions had been routinely taking place since they closed the building in April 2020, as Executive Director Sandra DeFeo claimed. Rowley and Gregorio promised to follow up with that information, but neither did, despite Tischler’s follow up.

Despite the fact that she sits on the board of an animal shelter, Alexandra Rowley, who is a professional photographer, sells and licenses stock photos of slaughterhouses, fish processing facilities and animal-based meals

Upon learning about the warehousing allegations in August 2021, TheirTurn conducted a two-month investigation and, in October 2021, posted a detailed report. The investigation, which corroborated the whistleblower allegations, revealed that HSNY was ignoring adoption applications; was doing hardly any adoption promotion on social media; and was closed to the public under false pretenses.

Unlike most shelters, which post photos and bios of animals on their social media pages on a daily basis, the Humane Society of New York makes only an occasional adoption post with virtually no information about the animal and adoptions process

In March 2022, TheirTurn launched a letter writing campaign calling on HSNY’s board members to re-open the building to the public or send the animals to other facilities. Two of the five board members who were targeted in the campaign, C. Jones Perry and James Gregorio, resigned. Both men are attorneys. 

TheirTurn launched a letter writing campaign calling on Alexandra Rowley and her colleagues on the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of New York to re-open their doors to the public and resume adoptions in earnest or send the animals to other adoption centers

In addition to having an animal adoption center, HSNY has a low-cost vet clinic, which is funded in part by the organization’s donors. Because the building is closed to the public, clients are forced to wait outside in all weather extremes instead of being with their animals during their vet appointments and/or waiting in the lobby. Clients are not even allowed to be with their animals when they are euthanized. In March 2022, a neighbor of HSNY told TheirTurn that she witnessed an employee refuse entry to an 80 year old woman with a walker who asked twice to use the bathroom while she waited outside in the cold for her dog.

The Executive Director of the Humane Society of New York, Sandra DeFeo, claims that the building is closed to the public due to COVID, but labor lawyers have corroborated whistleblower allegations that re-opening the building would subject the organization to another Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit. The building is not accessible, and HSNY has not filed permits with the NYC Department of Buildings to make renovations.

In February 2022, Tischler sat down for an on-camera interview with TheirTurn to speak out about the warehousing taking place at HSNY.  She has come out of retirement to take a leadership role in the campaign to help the animals.

Your Turn

If you’d like to be a voice for the cats and dogs, please take any or all of the following steps:

  1. Follow the the Facebook group, Humane Society of NY: Stop Warehousing Animals, for action alerts
  2. Send an automated letter to the members of the board
  3. Sign the petition

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Adoptions Director Denounces Animal Warehousing at Humane Society of New York

February 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment


The News

Bonnie Tischler, the former Adoptions Director of The Humane Society of New York (HSNY), is sounding the alarm about animal warehousing at the prominent cat and dog shelter on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. When she retired in early 2020 after serving for 22 years, Tischler assumed that her boss, Executive Director Sandra DeFeo, would hire a replacement. In August 2021, she learned that a whistleblower was reporting that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill and that the shelter was closed to the public for the indefinite future. In an on-camera interview with TheirTurn, Tischler speaks about the plight of the animals, the management culture that enables warehousing to take place and her decision to come out of retirement to advocate on their behalf.

Upon learning about the warehousing allegations in August 2021, TheirTurn conducted a two-month investigation and, in October 2021, posted a detailed report. The investigation, which corroborated the whistleblower allegations, revealed the following:

  1. HSNY ignores adoption applications. (TheirTurn knows of 13 individuals who did not receive a response after submitting applications.)
  2. HSNY’s website lists just 14 of the reported 90 animals in the shelter.
  3. HSNY does virtually no adoption promotion on social media. (In response to a letter-writing campaign, HSNY made two unconvincing posts on Instagram)
  4. Adopters are not meeting the animals because the shelter is closed to the public.
  5. Sandra DeFeo is misleading the public about why the building is closed. HSNY’s website states that it’s due to COVID, but a lawyer retained by TheirTurn asserts that HSNY would expose itself to another ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) lawsuit if it reopens without making the building accessible to the public. If COVID was the reason for restricted access to the building, then DeFeo could allow vaccinated, masked adopters into the building to meet the animals who need homes.

When confronted with questions about animal warehousing, DeFeo claims that HSNY has been “doing adoptions all along.” Tischler, the former Adoptions Director, disputes that assertion, not only because of the evidence demonstrating otherwise, but also because members of the public don’t know that the animals exist. “If the building is closed to the public and the animals aren’t listed online, much less promoted, then few people are submitting adoption applications in the first place.”

During her interview with TheirTurn, Tischler also expressed concerns about DeFeo’s belief that the animals’ cages are like apartments. “If she believes that the animals are ‘home’ in their ‘apartments’ at the shelter, then she’s not going to act with a sense of urgency to find them forever homes.”

The Humane Society of New York has been warehousing cats and dogs for at least 22 months, according to an anonymous whistleblower and a two-month TheirTurn investigation which corroborated his or her allegations

Since posting the report, TheirTurn launched a grassroots campaign calling on HSNY to either reopen the shelter to the public and resume adoptions in earnest OR send the animals to foster homes or adoption facilities that are sending animals home. To date, the campaign consists of a Facebook page, a petition and a letter-writing campaign targeting several of the organization’s board members.

As of February 22, 276 advocates sent letters to Humane Society of New York board members calling on them to reopen the shelter to the public and resume adoptions or send the animals to foster homes or adoption facilities that are sending animals home.

Two of the five board members targeted in the letter-writing campaign, C. Jones Perry and James Gregorio, resigned from the board. Both men are attorneys.

Two of the five Humane Society of New York board members targeted in a grass roots letter writing campaign denouncing animal warehousing at the shelter, C. Jones Perry and James Gregorio, have resigned

Among the board members who have ignored the letters are Cornelia Guest and Alexandra Rowley. Guest, a famous socialite who describes herself on social media as an “animal rights” advocate who “finds animals new homes every day,” owns a catering company that sells meat and other animal products. Rowley, who adopted a dog from Bonnie Tischler, has ignored her letters and phone calls. “The board members, many of whom I’ve known for years, are ignoring me, despite my 22 years of service to the Humane Society,” said Tischler. “Maybe that’s because they can’t argue with the truth — that the animals have been languishing in cages for 22 months or longer because HSNY is doing hardly any adoptions.”

Despite the fact that she describes herself as an “animal rights” advocates who “finds homes for animals every day,” Humane Society of New York Board Member has ignored hundreds of letters from advocates concerned about animal warehousing at her shelter.

By turning a blind eye to the animal warehousing, the board members are, according to Tischler, betraying the animals for whom they are responsible, failing to fulfill their duty to uphold the shelter’s mission and deceiving their donors, who believe they are contributing to a bonafide adoption center.

TapInto Sutton Place/Lenox Hill, a media outlet on the East Side of Manhattan, reported on animal warehousing controversy in November 2020.

Instead of addressing the warehousing, several of the board members are participating in HSNY’s deception, posting congratulatory comments on the few posts in which the shelter is attempting to give the impression that it’s doing adoptions. On February 14th, Alexandra Gore and Sarah Gore Reeves, the two adult daughters of HSNY Board President Virginia Chipurnoi, wrote “Love @humanesoceityNY” and “So cute” on one of these posts, despite having been informed about the animal warehousing by TheirTurn in January. According to HSNY insiders, Mrs. Chipurnoi, who is in her mid-80s and lives out of state, is elderly and unable to fulfill her duties as President of the Board.

In response to complaints that it is not promoting animals for adoption, the Humane Society of New York posted two animals for adoption in February, but the posts contained very little information and did not encourage people to submit adoption applications.

According to scientific studies, keeping animals in cages for prolonged periods of time negatively impacts their physical and mental health. It also flies in the face of best practices for animal shelters. “Many of the animals at HSNY have been living in cages for two or more years, “said Tischler. “If HSNY continues to keep the shelter closed to the public while doing virtually no adoption promotion, these animals will spend the rest of their lives in a cage.”

With $6 million in annual revenues and $42 million in net assets, HSNY can afford to hire a new Adoptions Director and make the building ADA compliant in order to be able to reopen to the public. If it cannot or will not take these steps, then it should send the animals to adoption facilities that are sending animals home. 

Your Turn

If you’d like to be a voice for the cats and dogs, please take any or all of the following steps:

  1. Follow the the Facebook group, Humane Society of NY: Stop Warehousing Animals, for action alerts
  2. Send an automated letter to the members of the board
  3. Sign the petition

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Animals Languish in Prominent NYC Shelter That’s Keeping Out The Public Under False Pretenses

October 12, 2021 by Leave a Comment


The News

On July 22, 2021, an anonymous whistleblower informed animal rights activists in New York City that dozens of cats and dogs had been languishing in cages for at least 15 months at the Humane Society of New York, an animal shelter and low-cost vet clinic in midtown Manhattan. The whistleblower alleged that shelter management closed the building to the public under false pretenses; has done virtually nothing to find homes for the animals; and has discouraged people from adopting in order to avoid the extra work associated with introducing people to the animals when the building is closed.

Upon hearing the allegations that HSNY is warehousing animals despite its mission to place them in homes, advocates with TheirTurn, which is based in NYC, decided to investigate. 

The Humane Society of New York is centrally located in a heavily populated residential neighborhood in Manhattan, but members of the public cannot enter the building to meet the animals who need homes

The Humane Society of New York is centrally located in a heavily populated, easily-accessible residential neighborhood in Manhattan, but the animals are languishing in cages because members of the public cannot enter the building to meet the animals.

FINDINGS:

HSNY IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHY THE BUILDING IS CLOSED

The HSNY closed its building to the public in April 2020. During a phone call on August 16th, 2021, Sandra DeFeo, the Executive Director, told Donny Moss of TheirTurn that, in order to protect her staff from COVID-19, she would not allow anyone in the building to meet the animals. She also stated that she has no plans to re-open.

The Humane Society claims that the adoption center is closed to the public due to COVID when, in fact, it cannot re-open until it takes steps to make the building wheelchair accessible

The Humane Society claims that the adoption center is closed to the public due to COVID when, in fact, it cannot re-open until it takes steps to make the building accessible to people with disabilities.

According to attorney Bonnie Klapper, who reviewed an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) lawsuit filed against HSNY, Ms. DeFeo cannot re-open the building to the public until HSNY begins renovations to make it accessible to people with disabilities.

A wheelchair-bound client of the Humane Society of New York's veterinary clinic sued the organization under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A wheelchair-bound client of the Humane Society of New York’s veterinary clinic sued the organization under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If fear of COVID-19 was the real issue, then Ms. DeFeo could require adopters to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask. These are safety precautions being taken by dozens of other New York City shelters that are open to the public, including Bideawee, Animal Haven, Best Friends and Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC).

The Humane Society of New York is closed to the public and is warehousing animals instead of finding homes for them

HSNY IS DISCOURAGING CALLERS FROM ADOPTING

In August, TheirTurn asked several advocates, including people interested in adopting, to call HSNY to inquire about the process. In every case, Anne-Marie Karash, the Associate Director of HSNY, directed them to submit an application and wait for a response. When the callers asked specific questions about how they could meet the animals after submitting their application, Ms. Karash refused to provide any information and, in several instances, suggested they contact another shelter.

HSNY IS NOT RESPONDING TO ADOPTION APPLICATIONS

TheirTurn asked nine other people who have or had companion animals and were willing to adopt to fill out and submit adoption applications. HSNY did not respond to any of them.

Six of the nine people called HSNY one or more times to follow up on their applications. Two of them left voicemails but did not receive a return call. Four of them called back until they reached Ms. Karash, who either discouraged them from adopting or told them that the Executive Director of the shelter would follow up with them, which did not happen.

HSNY DOES VIRTUALLY NO ADOPTION PROMOTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Since closing its shelter to the public 18 months ago, HSNY has posted just 12 photos of adoptable animals (on Instagram only), and it did not respond to questions posted by people who expressed an interest.

HSNY rarely promotes adoptions on social media. When they do, they do not respond to inquiries from people who are interested.

THE HSNY WEBSITE LISTS JUST 14 ANIMALS, A FRACTION OF THE TOTAL

According to the whistleblower, the list of animals on HSNY’s website is not only incomplete, but it is also several years old. If the 14 animals listed are still there, then they have been living in cages for far too long. If they are gone, then HSNY is wasting the time of people who are taking the time to apply for them.

The Humane Society of NY lists 14 animals available for adoption despite having 85, according to the organization’s Executive Director

ADOPTERS HAVE NO WAY TO MEET THE CATS

HSNY is located on a busy street in midtown Manhattan. While HSNY staff could, if motivated to do so, bring dogs outside to meet prospective adopters, they cannot introduce people to cats in this setting. That might explain why HSNY has made just two social media posts about adoptable cats since closing the building to the public in April 2020.

HSNY HAS AT LEAST 85 ANIMALS

During the August 16th call with Donny Moss, Ms. DeFeo stated that HSNY has approximately 85 cats and dogs in the shelter. HSNY’s tax forms indicate a much higher number of animals in the shelter– approximately 200  in 2018 and 175 in 2019.

Tax filing indicate that the Humane Society of New York has approximately "175 animals in the shelter."

Tax filings indicate that the Humane Society of New York has approximately “175 animals in the shelter.”

In March, 2020, the adoptions manager of 22 years resigned. Ms. DeFeo has not replaced her, and she is now the point person for adoptions, despite the fact that she is the Executive Director of an organization with $6 – $7 million in annual revenues.

THE ANIMALS’ CAGES ARE “APARTMENTS” 

When asked by Donny Moss why she doesn’t send the animals to foster homes or active adoption centers until she re-opens the building to the public, Ms. DeFeo stated that HSNY is their foster home. She also described their cages and kennels as “apartments.” 

The Executive Director of the Humane Society of New York, a shelter that is not allowing members of the public to meet the animals, describes the cages as “apartments.”

CONCLUSION

Given that the cages at the HSNY are filled with animals who need homes, we don’t know why the organization is neither responding to adoption applications nor promoting the adoptable animals online. Ms. DeFeo either doesn’t want to dedicate the extra time needed to adopt while she keeps the building closed to the public, or she truly believes that the animals are “home” at HSNY. One thing we do know (and any well-intended, experienced animal welfare professional would agree) is that animals are better off in real homes with families than in shelters. In a loving home, animals can move about freely, interact with their human families, play, climb, explore, patrol, stalk and engage in other behaviors that come naturally to them.  In shelters, which are stressful for animals, the dogs and cats spend the vast majority of their time in cages and kennels, where they pace, over-groom and show other signs of distress. 

If Ms. DeFeo is unwilling to begin making renovations that would allow her to re-open the building to the public, then she should send the animals to foster homes and/or adoption centers where they would have a chance of finding permanent home. The animals who have been living in HSNY cages for months or years have waited long enough.

Note: In August and September, Donny Moss and several other advocates sent letters to HSNY board member Cornelia Guest to address the issues raised in this article. She did not respond.

OTHER FINDINGS

HSNY SHOULD BE A HIGH VOLUME ADOPTION SHELTER 

Unlike NYC’s municipal shelters, HSNY is located in an easily-accessible, heavily-trafficked residential neighborhood in midtown Manhattan. Given its prime location and the large number of homeless animals it has at any given time, HSNY should be a high-volume shelter that sends dogs and cats to foster homes and/or permanent homes every day. If Ms. DeFeo was motivated to find homes for the animals, then she could be emptying several cages every day, as other shelters do, even before she re-opens the building.

FULL CAGES AT “NO KILL” HSNY = MORE KILLING AT OPEN-ADMISSION SHELTERS

If HSNY doesn’t move its adoptable animals into permanent homes, then it can’t free up space to accept newly surrendered animals. As a result, those animals are often taken to open-admission shelters that kill adoptable animals due to over-crowding.

HSNY IS PASSING OFF BREEDER DOGS AS RESCUES

According to the whistleblower, a backyard breeder in Brooklyn has, over the course of many years, given HSNY hundreds of designer dogs in exchange for free vet care for her own animals. Ms. DeFeo passes these dogs off as rescues, often giving them to friends of HSNY and to celebrities. In 2021, for example, Ms. DeFeo gave Shih Tzus to Kelly Ripa and her producer Michael Gelman. For every breeder dog who HSNY takes in, a dog in a high kill shelter in need of rescue pays the ultimate price. 

The Humane Society of New York is passing off dogs from a backyard breeder in Brooklyn as rescue dogs

The Humane Society of New York is passing off designer dogs from a backyard breeder in Brooklyn as rescues. Among those who have received these dogs are TV host Kelly Ripa and and her producer Michael Gelman.

THE LOW-COST VET CLINIC IN THE SAME BUILDING PROVIDES VITAL SERVICES

Each year, HSNY provides thousands of New Yorkers with high quality, low cost vet care in a clinic housed in the same building as the shelter. This clinic is a lifeline for people who cannot afford to pay standard prices for veterinary care. Ms. DeFeo should make the necessary ADA renovations so that members of the public can not only meet the animals in the shelter who need homes, but also accompany their animals into the clinic, especially for euthanasia appointments.


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