In respond to the recent article regarding the banishment of 3 board members
of the Friends of the Yonkers Animal Shelter from the Yonkers Animal Shelter,
we would like to set the record straight.
After 4 yrs of volunteering our time, energy and money, we were shocked to be informed, through a four line e-mail dated May 7th, 2003, that we lost our "privilege" to volunteer at the shelter, as if it were a membership to a country club.
A false accusation was made against one of the board members accusing her of asking a kennel worker to "spy" at the shelter. She was never given the opportunity to refute the allegation, particularly with her accuser, and the other board members, without giving input, were banned. Since we never met or spoke to Angelo Arena, nor did we speak to Mitch Tutoni regarding this particular situation, WE WERE NEVER GIVEN DUE PROCESS. (They played judge, jury and executioner in a closed courtroom).
As for the union president, Mr. Arena, if he had a problem with any FYAS volunteers, he should have spoken to us regarding the situation so it could be rectified. We are only aware of one situation due to numerous complaints by the shelter staff and the matter was taken care of by FYAS.
We know that there are staff members who would not have any problem working with FYAS as before, after all, we were there to help the shelter animals and the staff knows this.
We are also surprised that after all these years of meeting with Deputy Parks Commissioner August Cambria, more recently with Parks Commissioner Mitch Tutoni and occasionally with the shelter manager, that they are still questioning our agenda. Let me remind them, "It's all about the well-being of the animals, always was and always will be". Our documented records speak for themselves.
The board members of the Friends organization have not only helped defer the cost of medical bills of some animals personally, we have also transported animals, left donations to those particular rescues, paid for bedding for shelter animals, purchased toys, treats, etc. all at our own expense. The organization has paid for other expenses as well.
Looking back now, we feel this was just another excuse they were looking for to get rid of FYAS. After all they want to keep everything status quo. We will be more than happy to discuss the specifics with anyone regarding this situation or about our organization as a whole.