Steve supports legislation and other initiatives that help to improve the lives of animals in New York City. Across the five boroughs over eighty animals are put down every working day. In 2005, NYC Animal Care and Control took in 41,406 cats and dogs. Of those, 10,743 were adopted out; 6,840 were taken in by volunteer adoption groups; 1,409 were returned to their owners. The rest -- 22,414 -- were killed. 

Steve, along with other animal activist groups such as Animal Friendly NYC, are in favor of low cost spay and neuter clinics throughout the city. The creation of a city-operated, low cost clinic in each borough would help to spay and nueter 20,000 dogs and cats a year. Animal Friendly NYC conducted a study showing the institution of these clinics will cut the intake of dogs and cats into city shelters by over 40 percent in the first year alone, will save the city 2 million in the first year and will drastuically cut down the number of dogs and cats that wouotherwise be put down. 

Secondly two bills before the City Council would strengthen the rights of residents in apartments, coops and condos to keep their companions. Both bills, City Council Intro. 13 and City Council Intro. 294,  aim at clarifying the 1983 Pet Law, a law passed to keep landlords from using no-pet clauses that were never previously enforced as a pretext for evicting rent reguulated tenants who want to keep pets.  

Intro 294 would restore the intiial intention of the Pet Law. It would clarify that the waiver of the no-pet clause applies for the duration of the tenancy not the life of the pet or pets in residence at the time of the waiver. Most importantly it would apply to residents in apartments, coops and condos.

 Intro 13 would grant the tenancy based waiver for rental tenants only. For coop and condo residents, the waiver would apply only to the pet or pets for which it was given. That means residents of coops and condos with no pet rules would not be allowed to adopt a new pet.  

As councilman I will endorse Intro 294, the stronger of the two bills. Intro 13 was obviously drafted to meet the objections of coop and condo interests.