Your Pets or Your Apartment

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Bill: Int. 13

ASPCA Position: Support

Action Needed : Send a letter to your City Council Member urging him or her to support and co-sponsor Intro. 13.

As many of our loyal activists know, the ASPCA, along with other humane organizations, has been working for some time to pbutt legislation that would protect a tenant who wishes to keep his or her pet and to get another pet when the previous one has died. This is due to a court decision that held once a tenant gets a new pet, the three-month process required to waive the no-pet provision in renter�s leases must begin again. After many meetings and discussions, the legislation, now referred to as Int. 13, would protect pet owners already covered under the �3 month law� to get a �replacement� pet of the same species; the proposed legislation would cover the same number of animals the person has or had when he-she became covered under the law.

Unfortunately, Int. 13 is being vigorously opposed by the real estate industry. To help protect New York City pets and ensure that this legislation is pbutted, it is crucial that you contact your council member and urge him-her to support and co-sponsor this bill.

New York City Council - Committee on Housing and Buildings

Erik Martin Dolan Tony Vela * Maria Benz Leroy G. Corrie Jar. Lewis A. Fiddler Dennis P. Gallagher Robert Jackson * Rosier Mendes * James S. Odor Joel Rivera Thomas White Jar.

*indicates that the council member is a sponsor of Int. 13    The following council members currently co-sponsor the legislation:

Gale A. Brewer Vincent J. Gentile Sara M. Gonzalez Diebreastian James Miguel Martinez Michael C. Nelson Wannabe Palma

To find out who represents you please click here.

If your council member sits on the Housing and Buildings Committee, where Int. 13 is pending, it is especially important that your council member become a co-sponsor of the bill.

If you are a consbreastuent of one of the council members who currently co-sponsors the bill, please thank them and urge them to do whatever they can to get further support for the legislation.

Please print and send a letter to your council member. You can use the sample letter provided below or download the letter as a Word document, then customize, print and mail your letter. Thank you for your continued help on this legislation. We will keep you abreast of any developments as they unfold.

SAMPLE LETTER:

Date

Council Member City Hall New York, NY 10007

Dear Council Member :

I am writing as a consbreastuent to urge your support and co-sponsorship of Intro. 13, and to ask for your help in pbutting this legislation through the City Council this year.

space for personal message

Intro. 13 will greatly help make housing in New York City more "pet friendly" by allowing tenants who rent their apartments and who have had a companion animal (s) to get another one when that one has pbutted away. Currently, many residents are unable to �replace� a pet(s) that has died due to standard "no pet" provisions in their lease without risking having to forfeit their pet or be in violation of their lease. Responsible pet owners who have properly cared for a companion animal should not automatically be denied the opportunity to share their home with another pet. Current law appropriately provides an exception for animals that create a nuisance, and Intro 13 would leave this intact.

Intro 13 also will provide desperately needed homes for the many adoptable animals that enter our city shelters and humane societies. Many of these animals simply languish for weeks on end for no good reason other than lack of available housing. This bill will directly buttist in getting more animals adopted and, in turn, will drastically reduce the current high euthanasia rate in our animal shelters--which also creates higher animal care and control costs for the city. What's more, Intro 13 will bring much needed joy into the homes of New Yorkers, especially those who live alone!

Sincerely,