LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
In 2023, the Alliance continued to be a consistent and reliable source of information and guidance for New York City pet owners. Thanks to our organization’s longevity and experience within NYC’s animal welfare community, we have continued to help pet owners and others who care about NYC’s animals connect with resources equipped to provide assistance with a wide range of needs.
Through our informational phone line, website, emails, and phone calls, we continued to connect people with affordable spay/ neuter providers, veterinary care, sources of free pet food, legal assistance, surrender prevention programs, community cat assistance, and other animal-related resources. Our 2023 Annual Report provides details about our activities.
Thanks to our dedicated supporters, we have been able to continue in our mission to help improve the lives of New York City’s animals and the people who care for them. Since our founding in 2003, private support has fueled our success, as the Alliance receives no government funding.
We need your help to continue our mission to make New York City a more humane and caring community for companion animals, homeless animals, community cats, and the people who care about them.
Jane Hoffman, President Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s AnimalsHelping New York City pet owners connect with the services and resources they need to care for their pets remained our primary focus in 2023. Despite a continuing post-pandemic economic recovery, many pet owners continued to face challenges in acquiring routine and urgent healthcare and other critical services for their pets.
The rising costs of veterinary care coupled with a nationwide shortage of veterinarians and other veterinary personnel continued in 2023 to delay or prevent many pet owners from finding timely resources, especially affordable spay/neuter providers, for their pets. Waitlists of six months or more for affordable spay/neuter and other veterinary services have become the new normal – leaving many pet owners not knowing where to turn to acquire vet care for their pets.
As a reservoir of accurate, up-to-date information…
The Alliance continued in 2023 to be a consistent and reliable source of information and guidance for New York City pet owners. Thanks to our organization’s longevity and experience within NYC’s animal welfare community, we have continued to help pet owners and others who care about NYC’s animals connect with resources equipped to provide assistance with a wide range of needs. Through our informational phone line, website, emails, and phone calls, we continued to connect people with affordable spay/neuter providers, veterinary care, sources of free pet food, legal assistance, surrender prevention programs, community cat assistance, and other animalrelated resources.
In 2023, we began working on a makeover for our website to provide more, and more easily accessible, information for our site visitors. We will launch the new, improved website in 2024.
As a partner with the City of New York…
We continued to work alongside our colleagues on the Animal Planning Task Force (APTF) of NYC Emergency Management. Sharing our historical knowledge and experience within the animal welfare community, we collaborated in developing solutions to many of the challenges facing New York City’s pets and their people.
Our ongoing relationship with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare provided a forum for the Alliance to address issues and concerns of our constituents. At the same time, we were able to provide the Office of Animal Welfare with historical perspective to assist in addressing challenges facing today’s animal welfare community.
As an advocate for NYC’s animals…
The Alliance’s Tenant Advocacy Program, managed by long-time volunteer Matt Wildman, provided free advice and assistance to people with pet-related landlord issues.
Since 2015, the program has helped over 350 pet owners keep their pets in their homes where they belong. These include private renters, coop owners, New York City Housing Authority residents, and residents in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters.
Working with our Lights Out Coalition partners, we continued to advocate for animal friendly legislation. Building on the Coalition’s success in helping to gain passage of lights out legislation that will save the lives of thousands of migratory birds each year, the Alliance and its partners continued to push for passage of additional state and city animal friendly legislation.
As a bridge for donations…
We continued to steer donations of pet food and supplies from private donors to our partner animal care organizations.
To our supporters: Thank You!
The Alliance’s success is, and always has been, driven by our dedicated supporters who share our belief that NYC’s animals deserve their best lives possible. Thanks to you, we have been able to continue in our mission to help improve the lives of New York City’s animals and the people who care for them. Since our founding in 2003, we have relied completely upon private support, as the Alliance receives no government funding.
We need your help to continue our mission to make New York City a more humane and caring community for our animals and the people who love them!
Please follow our activities on our blog, our website, and Facebook.