I thank you all for caring. It seems that If Shawn Reilly cared in the least, or had just one iota of decency or compassion, he would change the scheduled (Aug 2, Aug 16, Aug 28) and other fireworks this year to noiseless, or another means of entertainment. It would not cost much more and he wouldn’t be torturing the animals next door, especially knowing they might not be there next year. If he doesn’t you should boycott those games. Tell everyone you know to do the same. Show him we care.
A little over four years ago I started this petition. I thought it was a no brainer. Why should someone have loud firework shows and intentionally terrorize and traumatize the poor innocent animals in the shelter next door (and also neighborhood Veterans and others with PTSD)when there are so many alternatives available (e.g. noiseless fireworks, laser shows, drone shows etc.). I was naïve, I thought” we the people” matter, I didn’t realize who we were dealing with, and where. This is my twelfth update.
A lot has happened in four years. The world has become a much scarier place. Kindness, civility and love for your fellow man seem to be disappearing. There is much more divisiveness between people. Everywhere we look violence, hatred and prejudice rears its ugly head. All over there are protests demonstrations, and counter demonstrations. But what never changes is our four legged family members giving us solace, and unconditional love. A new study concluded our pet dogs relieve more stress than expected.
Since I wrote the petition the name of the Boulder’s Stadium has changed from Palisades Credit Union Park to Clover Stadium and as I mentioned in my last update (July 9,2024): In Dec, 2022 Rockland County gave control of Hi-Tor Animal Shelter to Rockland Green the solid waste Management Authority. Rockland Green and Hi-Tor signed a two year contract. The Chairman of the Board of Rockland Green is Howard Phillips, who is also the Haverstraw Town Supervisor. On Sept 23, 2023 Rockland Green threw Hi-Tor off the premises and signed a contract with Four Legs Good. There are suits and countersuits about breach of contract. Hi Tor Animal Shelter is now the Rockland Green Cares Animal Shelter operated by Four Legs Good, which is run by Nixie Gueits.
What has not changed is Shawn Reilly is still causing unspeakable horror by using regular fireworks to terrorize and traumatize those poor animals at the shelter next door. This past July 4th a poor dog was so uncontrollably frightened by the fireworks that she had to be fostered for the weekend. But the Boulders don’t just have fireworks on the July 4th weekend, they do it at least 13 times this summer. There are always some dogs and cats effected more than others. A few years ago I wrote about Buddy, a black Labrador who kept banging his head against the cage during the fireworks. Some dogs and cats have to be sedated. Shawn Reilly knows what he is doing to these animals. With all the alternatives he could use why does he do it? It is totally incomprehensible and unconscionable. Since he never had the decency to answer any of my calls, e-mails, or letters (or change.org)in four years we can only guess. Others should also ask him: The Boulder’s phone is 845-364-0009 and his e-mail is sreilly@rocklandboulders.com Is he just heartless? Does he get some perverse pleasure from knowing the distress he’s causing to poor helpless animals? Or does he want to prove he has the people in Rockland who can stop him in his pocket. If those people are reading this, please prove us wrong.
Early on I asked someone from Hi Tor why they don’t ask Shawn Reilly to stop those fireworks. I was told “He and the Boulders are very good to us.” That could be the problem. They may be very good to the people but not the animals. I have talked to Ed Day, the Rockland County Executive, Michael Specht, the town of Ramapo Supervisor (the Boulders are in his jurisdiction), almost every other town supervisor (except Howard Phillips who refused to call me back or return my e-mails) and most of the local NY State elected Officials. Specht and two other politicians said they would set up a meeting for me with Reilly. That never happened, they then said I have to set up the meeting myself. Is Reilly very good to them too? I am surprised that with over 3,100 signatures (many are these politician’s constituents) “we the people” don’t matter. One of my friends said “You’re forgetting you are in Rockland County. Even 30,000 signatures wouldn’t matter here” There seems to be no transparency or accountability here.
I talked to Nixie, she told me I should be happy that I won and the shelter is moving. Even if the shelter moves before next summer, I don’t consider it a win. She should tell the poor animals who would be tortured and terrified the rest of this summer that they won. With Shawn Reilly, it was never a contest. The one that really won was her boss Howard Phillips who used our petition in his website and in his talks saying over 3,000 people signed a petition to move Hi Tor. Our petition never mentioned that. What made me even sadder was that I made an appointment (after July 4) with Nixie to tour the shelter. I wanted to see for myself if Rockland Green Cares was better for the animals than Hi Tor. The person who showed me around showed me the trailers for the cats and the main building where the dogs are kept. He showed me from the outside, and no matter how many times I asked he refused to let me take one step into where the animals are kept. The only animals I saw were the dogs being kept in small cages outside the building. Are the trailers air conditioned, are the animals kept in clean accommodations? There are so many questions and so many red flags.
In my last update titled “Out of the frying pan into the fire”, I talked about Mr. Phillips plans on moving the shelter to a vacant warehouse at 427 Beach Road in his Town of Haverstraw, an area not easily accessible from other parts of the county. He plans on spending over $18 million to refurbish it. This property is in a FEMA designated flood zone. It is adjacent to a Joint Regional Sewage Treatment Plant which emits noxious odors and directly across from a site that a developer is proposing to build a 454,000 square foot, 24/7 distribution trucking warehouse. This raises concerns about noise (but not from fireworks) and air pollution. It also sits between two landfills triggering contamination concerns. This definitely doesn’t seem like the best place in Rockland County for an animal shelter. Many people are against this, and there is a petition circulating. Good luck, but remember you are in Rockland County.
In 2015 Christopher St. Lawrence, the former Ramapo Town Supervisor fraudulently financed the construction of the Boulder’s Stadium even though many of the people in Ramapo voted against building it with public funds. Is everything Phillips doing legal and above board? Again, there seems to be a lack of transparency and accountability. The great American Philosopher Yogi Berra might say “It seems like déjà vu all over again”.