About Us
The Alliance helps New Yorkers connect with resources to care for their pets, and anyone looking to help improve the lives of NYC’s animals.
Who We Are
The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity that serves as a source of information for pet owners seeking services and resources to care for their pets, and for anyone looking to help improve the lives of NYC’s animals. Our goal is to help New Yorkers find the information and resources they need to give their animal companions and all New York City animals their best lives possible.
Through our website, blog, informational phone line, and direct communication with individuals and organizations, we provide information to help people gain access to services, resources, and guidance related to pet care and other pet-related issues.
The Alliance is a proud partner of NYC Emergency Management’s Animal Planning Task Force, the NYC Lights Out Coalition, and the United Spay Alliance. We also work closely with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare on matters concerning New York City’s animals.
Our History
The Alliance was founded in 2003 with a vision to create a community where no dogs or cats of reasonable health and temperament are killed merely because they do not have homes. The year the Alliance was founded, the live release rate at New York City’s municipal shelters, Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), was under 25 percent – meaning that nearly three out of every four animals who entered the NYC shelter system were killed.
Guided by our 10-year strategic plan, and initially fueled by Maddie’s Fund, the ASPCA, and other generous funders, the Alliance created life-saving programs and services that targeted specific and critical needs to achieve our goal. These initiatives, in tandem with the hard work and dedication of the more than 150 rescue groups and shelters that became Alliance Participating Organizations and collaborated in our mission, allowed us to achieve our life-saving goal. By 2019, ACC’s live release rate exceeded 90 percent for the third consecutive year.
Having accomplished our mission to achieve a no-kill NYC, we reevaluated our programming to adapt to the city’s evolving landscape of animal welfare. In 2019, we thoughtfully and carefully transitioned our key programming to other nonprofit Alliance partners.
Today, the Alliance serves as a source of information for pet owners seeking services and resources to care for their pets, and for anyone looking to help improve the lives of NYC’s animals.
Past Key Initiatives
Wheels of Hope
The Alliance’s unique Wheels of Hope program provided free transportation for shelter animals from Animal Care Centers of NYC to no-kill animal shelters, rescue groups, and other safe havens. Between 2005 and 2019, Wheels of Hope transported more than 130,000 animals. In 2019, the Alliance transferred the program to Best Friends Animal Society.
New York City Feral Cat Initiative
The Alliance created the New York City Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI) to support the efforts of organizations and individuals who work to help feral and stray community cats through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), with the goal of humanely reducing the population of community cats in NYC. In 2019, we transferred the NYCFCI to Bideawee.
Adoptapalooza Mega Adoption Event
Beginning in the Alliance’s infancy, presenting multi-group adoption events was a key strategy for getting animals out of the shelters and foster homes and in front of adopters. As early as 2003, we began staging adoption events throughout New York City’s five boroughs – in city parks and other high-traffic locations where multiple adoption groups came together to showcase their animals seeking new homes.
In 2010, the Alliance presented its first Adoptapalooza – what became our signature mega pet adoption extravaganza – in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park. Between 2010 and 2019, we expanded Adoptapalooza’s reach to other locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, eventually establishing Adoptapalooza Union Square as NYC’s preeminent mega adoption event. These free public events featured between 300 and 500 cats, dogs, and rabbits for adoption from 20–40 NYC-area shelters and rescue groups. Over the years, Adoptapalooza events resulted in more than 17,000 pet adoptions.
Following a three-year, pandemic-imposed hiatus in mega adoption events, Petco Love (formerly known as the Petco Foundation and the Alliance’s major financial supporter and sponsor for Adoptapalooza) revived this eminent adoption tradition by presenting Petco Love’s Paws in the Park mega adoption event in Union Square Park.
Helping Pets and People in Crisis
The Alliance created the Helping Pets and People in Crisis program in 2006 in response to the many requests we received from people facing heartbreaking separation from their pets during times of crisis. The program provided assistance to individuals and families fleeing domestic violence; seniors requiring medical care outside of their home; and families facing eviction or other temporary setbacks.
The Alliance’s Helping Pets and People in Crisis program not only provided direct assistance to many pet owners in crisis, but also paved the way for other animal rescue and social services to better recognize the critical human-animal bond and begin to address the needs of pet-owning families facing domestic violence and other life crises.
Picasso Veterinary Fund
The Picasso Veterinary Fund was created in 2003 by Broadway Barks founders Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore and administered by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. The fund provided financial assistance to pay for extraordinary lifesaving medical treatment for animals transferred from Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) to other Alliance Participating Organizations for adoption.
Past Featured Events
From 2003 to 2019, the Alliance sponsored or co-sponsored a variety of events to promote pet adoption and proper pet care, and to support our lifesaving programs and services in New York City.
Pet Adoption Events
Fundraising Events
Media
Media Coverage
Articles, press releases, blog posts, episodes, videos, and other media coverage of Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals events, programs, and services.
Videos
The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals’ YouTube channel.
Blog: Out of the Cage!
A blog featuring news, events, and other information from the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.
Guidestar Listing
GuideStar is a public charity that collects, organizes, and presents information about every single IRS-registered nonprofit organization. See more about the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals’ Platinum Guidestar rating.
Board of Directors
Jane Hoffman, Esq.
President
Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals
Voting Member (2003–Present)
Meena Alagappan, Esq.
Mayor’s Alliance Board Secretary
Executive Director
Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART)
Independent Voting Member (2011–Present)
Gail Buchwald
Former Senior Vice President
Adoption Center
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
Independent Voting Member (2003–Present)
Sandra DeFeo
Executive Director/Director of Public Relations
Humane Society of New York
Independent Voting Member (2003–Present)
Elizabeth Stein, Esq.
Law Office of Elizabeth Stein
Independent Voting Member (2016–Present)
Legal Info, Tax ID & Documents
The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc. is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. EIN: 73-1653635
All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A copy of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals’ latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals or from the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
Name: Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc.
Principal Address: 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite R290, New York, NY 10001-7604
Telephone: (212) 252-2350
EIN / Federal Tax ID: 73-1653635
IRS Determination / 501(c)(3) Letter
Financial Statements & Report of Independent Certified Accountants
Donor Privacy Policy
All information concerning donors or prospective donors, including their names, addresses, and telephone numbers, the names of their beneficiaries, the amount of their gift, etc., shall be kept strictly confidential by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc., its staff, and its volunteers, unless permission is obtained from donors to release such information.
The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc. is committed to respecting the privacy of donors. The types of donor information that it collects and maintains are as follows:
- Contact information: name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address
- Giving information
- Information on events attended, publications received, and special requests for program information
- Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions
The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc. uses donors’ information to understand their interests in its mission and to update them on the organization’s plans and activities. It is shared with staff, board members, volunteers, and consultants only on a “need-to-know” basis.
The organization also assures donors that their names and addresses will not be shared with any third party unless permission has been granted. For those who do not wish to be included on a mailing list that might be sold, rented, or leased to other organizations, donors should contact the organization to have their names removed.
If you have comments or questions about the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc.’s donor privacy policy, please e-mail info@animalalliancenyc.org.
Contact
Jane Hoffman, President
E-mail: info@AnimalAllianceNYC.org
Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals
244 Fifth Avenue, Suite R290
New York, NY 10001-7604
