Ilene Richman
4:18:22
Thank you, chair, Prussian Schulman, and members of the council.
4:18:25
My name is Aileen Richmond.
4:18:27
In 2011, I moved to District 36, now represented by Kyossay from Manhattan and I was immediately struck by the differences.
4:18:35
Bedside, of course, had been a red lined community that was neglected and uninvested in for decades.
4:18:41
I saw that it was under banked with almost no green space.
4:18:44
I learned that it had 57 Bodegas every one supermarket with life expectancy 5 years lower than the city overall, and it had unhoused cats.
4:18:53
Everywhere I looked, I saw cats.
4:18:55
And while it wasn't in the data sheets, I came to understand that the enormous population of street cats was yet another manifestation of inequity.
4:19:04
You do not see unhoused cats running around affluent neighborhoods.
4:19:08
People in under resourced communities are experts in self help.
4:19:11
They organized to meet their own needs.
4:19:14
As I got involved in local animal rescue, I was usually impressed by how much was being done, but I also saw untapped capacity.
4:19:22
So in the self help tradition, I created a collective called Nauren CB, the Neighborhood Animal Rescue Network of Central Brooklyn.
4:19:30
Some of our 75 members are testifying today.
4:19:33
I wish I had time to tell you about the incredible work our members undertake, about the hundreds of cats we rescue every year, about the many community members that we help, and about the tremendous toll that this work takes on us emotionally and financially.
4:19:49
I hope that you will hear these stories today.
4:19:51
But what I want to close with is this.
4:19:55
Self help can only go so far.
4:19:58
The city is not investing nearly enough in animal welfare.
4:20:01
And New Yorkers all over the city, but especially in neighborhoods like bedside need access to free space, nootter, and affordable veterinary care along with other approaches to make pet ownership sustainable and accessible for all.
