WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 5, 2018 3
Pet admissions center could be coming to Midville
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BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Middle Village could soon be at
the center of the eff ort to help
care for pets in need aft er the
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
applied to open a pet admission
center on 69th Street.
The application, fi rst submitted in
February 2018, states that the proposed
location at 66-78 69th St. would
replace the current pet admission
center on Queens Boulevard in Rego
Park. The application is currently in
the city’s land use review process and
the next step is a public hearing that
will be held at the regular meeting for
Board 5 in April.
The requested site on 69th Street is
a 1,400-square-foot commercial space
within a three-story building with
residential apartments above it. It was
formerly occupied by Artistic Stitch, a
custom apparel and signage company
which relocated to Glendale several
years ago.
The main reason for the move, according
to the application, is that the
750-square-foot Rego Park location is
“overburdened in terms of its ability to
handle the current volume of animals.”
The application further states that the
reason the 69th Street location was
selected was because of its square footage,
its accessible location, it potential
for renovation and its appropriate
zoning district.
A number of renovations would
be necessary to make the 69th Street
location operational, according to
the application. The space must have
soundproofi ng, improved HVAC systems,
a backfl ow preventer and other
plumbing upgrades, improvements
to street facade and inside walls, an
ADA-compliant entrance and an
ADA-compliant bathroom. The Rego
Park facility would remain open until
these renovations are completed and
the new center is ready to open.
The center will continue to be
operated by Animal Care Centers of
NYC (ACC), a nonprofi t that has been
operating city-owned animal shelters
since 1995.
A spokesperson for the ACC described
a pet admission center as “a
facility that works with New Yorkers
who may need to surrender their pet.”
Hopeful pet owners cannot adopt
directly from admission centers
and they do not provide signifi cant
medical treatment, but there is a veterinary
technician on site to evaluate
the health of incoming animals as well
as an admissions counselor to discuss
options with pet owners in hopes of
getting owners to keep their pets in
their homes.
When animals are surrendered to
the center it serves as a temporary
holding location, and every night the
animals that have been dropped off
will be driven to the nearest full-service
shelter. The admissions center
will be open seven days a week from
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The two ACC vans used at the location
will occupy two parking spaces
in an adjacent parking lot, the applications
said.
In 2017, the ACC was responsible
for preventing 2,531 family pets from
being surrendered, returning 1,920
animals to their homes and allowing
7,010 animals to get adopted into new
homes, according to its website.
The next meeting for Board 5 will
take place on April 11 at 7:30 p.m. inside
the cafeteria at Christ the King High
School. Members of the community
will have a chance to comment on the
proposal during the public hearing
and can register in advance to speak
during the hearing by calling the community
board at 718-366-1834.
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