"OH, WHERE, OH WHERE
HAVE THE BRONX AND QUEENS SHELTERS GONE?
OH, WHERE, OH WHERE
CAN THEY BE?"
With the
June 24th AC&C Board meeting fast approaching, now's the time to catch up on the popular "Shelters Bill" that would require the Department of Health (DOH) to build shelters for the Bronx and Queens.
Four months ago an overwhelming majority of the City Council said they supported the Shelters Bill. Their only question before voting on the Bill was
how much money to set aside to fund the bill.
IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY ... THE DOH'S MONEY
The DOH's position is that NYC doesn't need any more shelters.
No doubt that's why the Mayor's initial draft Budget for Fiscal Year 2016 (beginning on July 1st) did NOT include funding for shelters. The funding would have to come out of the DOH's budget, and the DOH didn't think it was a budget-worthy item to suggest to the Mayor.
The Shelters Bill supporters responded by asking Mayor de Blasio to include $40 million for those shelters in the revised draft. After all, on the mayoral campaign trail Mr. de Blasio said he supported shelters for the Bronx and Queens. So it was a no-brainer that he'd include the requested funding. Right?
Wrong.
The revised budget was silent on shelter funding. But there was something new: a $1.2 million line item entry for "planning, siting, and scope development [to] create a vision for full service animal shelters in the Bronx and Queens." (See p. 130 at this link.)
Oh, okay. Apparently the DOH changed its mind and now supports having more shelters. It will create a detailed "vision" of those two state-of-the-art shelters, including blueprints, locations, and a price tag. Then the monies will be appropriated out of the DOH's budget. The Shelters Bill will be passed. And construction will begin promptly.
That's what this means, right?
Wrong, again.
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE TOOTH FAIRY, THEN BELIEVE THE DOH WILL VOLUNTARILY DELIVER ON THOSE SHELTERS
Over the past 15 years the DOH has proven itself a master at avoiding any obligation to build more shelters. This is its newest delaying tactic. You don't need a crystal ball to see what the DOH's "vision" for the AC&C will be a year or two or three from now. The DOH will report:
-- We l
ooked high and low, but couldn't find any locations that were right for new shelters.
--
But no problem, because NYC doesn't need more shelters. The AC&C agrees with us.
Is this the same AC&C that suffers from chronic overcrowding while forced to use decrepit old factories as shelters? Certainly the AC&C wouldn't say "no thanks" to state-of-the-art shelters for the Bronx and Queens.
Unfortunately, it already has.
In February AC&C Executive Director Risa Weinstock told the City Council Health Committee that the AC&C has a "tremendous number" of services to offer the Bronx and Queens. Not every borough needs a full service shelter, she explained.
DOH TO BRONX AND QUEENS: DROP DEAD
So, if left to the DOH and the AC&C, the Bronx and Queens will never get their own full-service shelters ... even though the DOH can easily spring for them.
The DOH's 2015 budget (ending this month) was $1.39 billion dollars. Yes, $1.39 billion dollars. And starting July 1st the DOH budget will rise to $1.45 billion. No other municipal health department budget comes close.
Still,
the DOH begrudges every nickel it's ever spent on the AC&C even though AC&C funding is just a tiny, miniscule fraction of one percent of the DOH's total budget. Even the increased funding recently doled out by the DOH doesn't approach what the AC&C needs.
THE JUNE 24TH AC&C BOARD MEETING:
A CHANCE TO ASK WHY THE SHELTERS BILL WAS DERAILED
The DOH, the AC&C Board of Directors and AC&C executives will all be there.
Take a sick day. Take a personal day. Play hooky. Do what you must to attend this meeting. You'll have an opportunity to question the DOH, the Board and AC&C executives about their position on those missing shelters.
It'll make an interesting meeting, we promise.
