| Releases & Statements
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is demanding the city change its dog licensing procedures before moving forward with recently reported plans to increase the number of tickets issued for unlicensed dogs. Currently, applying for a dog license, done through the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOH), takes at least a month. The city’s ticket barrage could begin any day, leaving owners of an estimated 900,000 unlicensed dogs in a quagmire.
DOHMG does not provide a temporary license, which would offer proof for owners whose dogs do not yet have a license tag. “The system is rigged. You can’t win either way. The system is set up to ticket dog owners even if they have applied for a dog license. The often-criticized Department of Motor Vehicles does better by providing a temporary license,” said Gotbaum in front of the dog run at Tompkins Square Park on Wednesday, July 2, 2003.
Gotbaum is not only concerned that dog owners will be ticketed despite having obeyed the law, but that the process could be costly for the city. “The city might wind up spending more on processing these tickets than we bring in because tickets issued to owners who have applied for, but not yet received their license, will be dismissed in court,” continued Gotbaum. Gotbaum does support dog licensing laws that could bring in $10 million in fees for a cash-strapped city.
DOH might also be unable to handle the increase in applications, and therefore should devise a new system for processing licenses in a timely manner. “Can DOH handle 900,000 new applications? My understanding from conversations with dog owners is that DOH has a hard time handling the 100,000 applications it currently receives,” commented Gotbaum.
“If the city wants to avoid looking like it finally found a way to ticket even law abiding citizens, the process for licensing dogs must change before another ticket is handed out. Otherwise, this plan will wind up biting the mayor and the city,” concluded Gotbaum.
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