Trouble-packed NYC animal shelters land another $1M in taxpayer funds — GOP’s Sliwa slams as ‘drop in the bucket’
The city is dumping another $1 million into its troubled jam-packed animal-shelter system to hire and train 14 new staffers, City Hall said Friday.
The Animal Care Centers of New York City — a nonprofit with a $1.4 billion contract to run the Big Apple’s animal-shelter system for 34 years — recently announced it was suspending its intake of dogs and cats because of “critical” overcrowding.
The move came days after a Post expose revealed ongoing sickening conditions at ACC’s new $75 million city-funded shelter in Queens.
“ACC’s work to ensure no animal is left behind is essential to protecting animals across New York City, and our administration is proud to invest $1 million in additional funding to support the work ACC does and boost their capacity to better care for animals,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.
“I also urge New Yorkers looking for a pet addition to their families to adopt, so we can ensure that every animal can find a loving home.”
But GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa slammed the funding announcement as a piecemeal solution to the larger problem of animal welfare in Gotham.
“The city has completely ignored animal welfare,” Sliwa wrote on X. “Today’s $1M for ACC is a drop in the bucket. ACC has a 34-year contract worth over $1B—and yet our shelters are overcrowded, surrenders are paused, and animals are suffering.”
The red-beret-wearing Republican, who shares an apartment with six rescue cats, earlier this week called for the city to end its contract with ACC and replace it with a city-run overhaul that would include a “quasi-private public partnership” to shift the cost away from taxpayers.
A new animal welfare agency would be created in the “basement” of City Hall and all shelters would be kill-free and offer free spay and neuter programs under a Sliwa administration.
The ACC has three active sites across the five boroughs with more than 1,000 animals in its care.
While the ACC is mandated to have a location in each of the five boroughs, the Brooklyn location is currently closed till 2026 for renovations, and the Bronx resource center has been “temporarily” closed since May.
Another $92 million facility in The Bronx is still under construction even though it was slated to open in the spring.
The ACC did not respond to a Post request for comment.
Adams’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment, either.