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Q&A
Brooklyn Animal Care Center closure and renovation details
2:25:58
ยท
4 min
Council Member Lynn Schulman inquires about the closure and renovation of the Brooklyn Animal Care Center. DOHMH officials provide information on the timeline, costs, and logistics of the renovation project.
- The Brooklyn ACC is expected to reopen in fall 2026
- The total capital cost for renovations is approximately $50 million
- The decision to fully close the facility during renovation was made to expedite the process and avoid disrupting animals and staff
- Most staff from the Brooklyn ACC have been relocated to the Queens facility
Lynn Schulman
2:25:58
You have the Brooklyn site is currently closed.
2:26:01
Am I correct?
2:26:03
And so when do you expect that to come back online because that's creating a problem for the other centers?
Aaron Anderson
2:26:10
I think it's two years but I'm looking over it.
2:26:14
Great.
Corinne Schiff
2:26:23
Yes, we are doing a full renovation of the Brooklyn Care Center and we're anticipating it would reopen in the fall of twenty twenty six.
Lynn Schulman
2:26:34
Okay.
2:26:35
I know each animal care center is different but do you know the average cost to operate each center?
Corinne Schiff
2:26:45
I think as Erin said we'll get back to you about details and it's hard to break it down in that way but we'll share some of those details.
Lynn Schulman
2:26:52
Okay, what is DOHMH's fiscal twenty twenty five headcount under the ACC's broken down by location and the positions and salaries.
2:27:00
I assume you're going to have to get back to me on that too.
Michelle Morse
2:27:03
Well it's a contract that allows us to partner with them based on their needs.
2:27:07
I'll pass to our CFO to share more.
Aaron Anderson
2:27:09
That's right.
2:27:10
It is a contract.
2:27:11
And again there are a number of positions that are shared across sites.
Lynn Schulman
2:27:14
So if we can we can get that information.
2:27:19
What is the total capital cost for renovations for the Brooklyn ACC?
Michelle Morse
2:27:26
I'll pass to my CFO.
Aaron Anderson
2:27:29
And I will tell you in just a second.
2:27:34
Brooklyn is about $50,000,000 in capital.
2:27:39
Okay.
Lynn Schulman
2:27:44
Now the Bronx ACC is only a resource center and so it doesn't provide adoptions or medical services.
2:27:50
So I'm just curious why the construction for the Brooklyn ACC what how was the determination made to keep it fully partially closed while it's under construction because there's such a dearth of facilities and resources.
Corinne Schiff
2:28:10
So as we planned for the full renovation of the Brooklyn site, actually the initial plan was to develop it in stages and to keep it open in pieces.
2:28:20
As the development of the Queens site moved along, it turned out that those two projects were fairly aligned in timing and that gave us the opportunity to essentially move the Brooklyn activities to Queens, which is letting us do the development in Brooklyn much more quickly, and also spare what we were concerned about, which was having the animals and staff at the site during the construction.
2:28:50
So this was a way to move the renovation more quickly, and once we are done in the fall of twenty twenty six, our expectation is we will have a full service shelter in every borough, which has been a long standing goal of the council and the health department.
Lynn Schulman
2:29:09
How many animals were in the Brooklyn ACC when it closed and how many were moved to each of the other ACCs?
Corinne Schiff
2:29:17
I don't have the animal count.
2:29:19
I know that Risa Weinstock who's the president and CEO of Animal Care Centers, is always happy to meet with council members.
2:29:28
I know, Chair, you've been to the site and she would be happy to provide those details to you, I'm sure.
2:29:34
There's also just a wonderful video, I don't know if you've seen it, of the move of the animals from Brooklyn
Lynn Schulman
2:29:40
I haven't seen to Queens.
Corinne Schiff
2:29:41
Oh, I've seen it many times.
2:29:43
I could watch it a million more.
2:29:45
But I'm sure that Ms.
2:29:46
Weinstock would be happy to share that with That
Lynn Schulman
2:29:48
would be great.
2:29:48
How many employees worked at Brooklyn ACC and where did they go after the facility was closed?
Corinne Schiff
2:29:55
So for the most part, the staff who were working in Brooklyn have moved to the staff have moved to Queens.
2:30:03
We do provide staffing numbers in the Local Law 59 report that we submit so you can find those there.