Earlier this week, we announced the grand opening of our third ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic in New York City, located in Long Island City, Queens, to provide access to affordable veterinary services for tens of thousands of underserved pet owners each year and improve the health and welfare of dogs and cats in the surrounding community.

The ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic by The Rachael Ray Foundation™ is the fourth Community Veterinary Clinic we have opened in five years, with the first clinic opening in Miami, followed by clinics in the Bronx and Brooklyn, collectively serving more than 100,000 cats and dogs since 2019, and helping to make veterinary care more affordable and accessible nationwide.

“The need for affordable veterinary care is at an all-time high, and for many pet owners, keeping their beloved pets healthy can be a challenge, which puts stress not just on the animals, but on owners, families, and entire neighborhoods, because everyone is impacted when a vital family need is unmet,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA CEO. “The new ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic in Queens is one example of how we are working to help meet that need by intentionally embedding ourselves in communities where access to basic veterinary care is most needed. The lessons we learn from our community-based work in New York City will strengthen our clinics here and shape our current efforts to improve veterinary care access in Los Angeles, Miami and beyond.”

The location of the new clinic was chosen because of the lack of affordable veterinary care in the surrounding area and was made possible by a leadership gift from The Rachael Ray Foundation, along with donations from other dedicated supporters.

Specifically, this clinic will serve residents of the nearby NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments — Queensbridge, Ravenswood and Astoria — all within walking distance of the clinic. Together, these three NYCHA developments house over 6,000 units and are home to many families and their pets.

The Queens Community Veterinary Clinic will offer partially and fully subsidized basic and preventive care to dogs and cats, including vaccinations, treatment for minor illnesses and injuries and spay/neuter surgeries. The clinic will also provide high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgeries and vaccinations to homeless dogs and cats being cared for by animal rescue organizations, including Animal Care Centers of New York City, expanding our services to the animal rescue community.

In addition to services offered, we also share learnings from our Community Veterinary Clinics with the animal welfare community and veterinary professionals across the country, helping to make veterinary care more affordable and accessible nationwide.

The new Community Veterinary Clinic in Queens is located at 36-02 14^th Street in Long Island City and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Services are provided by appointment only. To receive services from the Queens Community Veterinary Clinic, pet owners must provide proof of public assistance and live in one of three zip codes surrounding the clinic: 11101, 11102 or 11106. Acceptable forms of public assistance include proof of residency in public housing (NYCHA), Medicaid, SSI, Disability/SSD, Welfare, TANF, SNAP/Food Stamps.

In addition to its Community Veterinary Clinics, we currently operate mobile spay/neuter and veterinary care clinics in under-resourced communities across New York City, and the ASPCA Animal Hospital in Manhattan offers advanced care services for pets of low-income households. We have launched programs and partnerships in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami that make veterinary care more accessible and affordable and continue to develop initiatives to serve the millions of pets living in poverty with their owners nationwide.