In September 2014, a bill was introduced in the New York City Council to require full-service animal shelters be built in Queens and the Bronx, the two boroughs that don’t have them. This morning the bill, Intro 485, had its first Council hearing before the nine-member Committee on Health, and the ASPCA was there to provide support.

Our President, Matt Bershadker, testified on behalf of the bill and urged the City Council to pass and properly fund Intro 485 on a continuing basis, as well as to pick locations for the new shelters that are conveniently accessible to residents.

Queens and the Bronx (combined population: approximately 3.6 million) currently have only animal “receiving centers”—as a result, stray or surrendered animals is these boroughs must be transported to shelters in other boroughs. The Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island shelters already operate at maximum capacity and are out of reach for many residents of Queens and the Bronx who may be searching for beloved lost pets or interested in adopting.

“The current set-up is not just inefficient, but absolutely life-threatening to homeless dogs and cats,” said Bershadker. “The key to saving lives is not just housing these animals, but more importantly, re-homing them. Yet the receiving centers in these boroughs don’t serve that cause. The ASPCA stands ready to work with Animal Care and Control and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to support the city during this substantial, but necessary change.”

Intro 485 has the support of nearly every City Council member representing Queens and the Bronx; 33 of the Council’s 51 members have cosponsored the bill. Please stay tuned to aspca.org for more news on this effort as it develops.

Intro 485's sponsor Council Member Paul Vallone, ASPCA President Matt Bershadker, and Council Member Corey Johnson appeared at a press conference for the bill in lower Manhattan this morning.