First-ever public animal shelter opens in Queens with 50,000 square feet of space — after dogged 24-year saga

Queens has finally gone to the dogs — and cats.

The borough opened its first public animal shelter last month — 24 years after plans for it were first set in motion — as abandoned pets continue to overwhelm the city’s already packed system.

The latest site of the city-run nonprofit Animal Care Centers of NYC at Flushing and Woodward avenues in Ridgewood can house up to 72 dogs and 110 cats, plus rabbits and guinea pigs.

In addition to the typical denizens, at least one rooster and a hamster are already calling the Ridgewood location home, too, a staffer told The Post.

The locals don’t seem to mind their new neighbors. In fact, some residents say they’ve been eagerly awaiting the site, which will eventually open a vet clinic.

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“I used to have take my dog far away for a check-up, and now I can just go across the street,” said Janette Rodriguez, 60, a retired school aide, to The Post on Monday. “I haven’t taken her for a check-up since COVID. Now this is gonna be my new place.”

While Rodriguez said she has noticed the strong smell of poop coming from the location, she said it usually doesn’t bother her and that staffers typically clean up after the dogs are walked around the premises.

“It doesn’t usually smell,” she said. “It must be the diarrhea today.”

Martin Meyers, 58, a photographer who was walking his French Bulldog “Taz” near the shelter Monday, said he’s excited about the new addition to the neighborhood. He told The Post he plans to go in and offer his services to volunteer as a photographer for animal adoption photos.

“The construction was going on for a long time,” he said. “It’s nice to see it’s finally here.”

The 50,000-square-foot shelter includes a retractable glass roof, open-air rooftop dog run, roaming area for cats and animal housing across three stories. The shelter also provides adoption counseling, as well as parking on Flashing Avenue and Troutman Street, according to its developer.

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Ridgewood resident Elaine, 21, a volunteer at the nonprofit animal shelter Puppy Kitty NYCity in Middle Village, Queens, visited the shelter Monday to find a companion for her rabbit Romeo, who was rescued from non-profit Puppy Kitty NYCity in Queens.

Elaine said she spotted three rabbits at the new public Queens shelter that she would consider adopting.

“This shelter is city-funded, and it’s nice to have that in Queens — finally,” she said. “It’s good for the neighborhood and overall for the wellbeing of animals. I’m just happy to see the animals.”

The city runs three other animal shelters in the city. One of them, in East New York in Brooklyn, closed in July because of renovations and is slated to reopen in 2026.

A $92 million cit-run Bronx shelter project is also in the works in Baychester. That location is set to open in spring 2025 and will have room for about 70 dogs, 140 cats, 30 rabbits and 20 animals of other species.

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The additional shelter space can’t seem to come soon enough, as reports of overcrowding at New York animal shelters mount.

ACC officials told THE CITY last year that financial stresses on pet owners are to blame. Adoptions are also way down compared to pre-pandemic , the outlet reported.

The new Queens shelter has already exceeded its capacity for dogs thanks to the 100 pooches transferred from the city’s Brooklyn shelter because of overcrowding there, according to Gothamist .

Plans for the Queens shelter had been in the works since 2000, when the City Council passed a bill requiring at least one animal shelter in each borough.

Then-council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. of Astoria, Queens, championed the bill but wasn’t able to see the fruits of his labor in his own borough. He died of a heart attack in January at age 56.

The Ridgewood animal shelter is named after the late council member.

Adoption hours at the Queens location are Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pet surrender is by appointment only.

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