Underfoot

Bonus Episode: What Mayor Mamdani Can Do to Fix NYC’s Animal Welfare Crisis

After the end of the season, we stay with the question at the heart of Underfoot: what would it actually take to fix New York City’s animal welfare system? In this bonus episode, host Will Zweigart sits down with Allie Taylor, President of Voters for Animal Rights, to break down the policy gaps behind the crisis — and the concrete steps the city could take right now to prevent pets from ending up on the street in the first place. Together, they explore a prevention-first framework focused on affordable veterinary care, community support, and stronger public infrastructure. Featured Voices: * Allie Feldman Taylor — President, Voters For Animal Rights Learn More / Related Links * Voters For Animal Rights website [https://vfar.org/] * To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org [https://www.flatbushcats.org/] * Full episode transcript here [https://flatbushcats.substack.com/p/city-policy-lab-bonus-episode-transcript]. Subscribe to Underfoot wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation [https://flatbushcats.fillout.com/podcast_feedback] — share your questions, reactions, or stories with us. Your voice might even make it into a future episode. Ready to get more involved? Subscribe to our newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/flatbushcats/subscribe-now] now to join our community of 18,000+ passionate animal advocates and follow Flatbush Cats on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @flatbushcats to learn more about our on-the-ground efforts to give cats the life they all deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flatbushcats.substack.com [https://flatbushcats.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 6: Vision for Tomorrow

To close the season, we look toward bold, realistic solutions and a future where New York’s animal care system finally works. We revisit the blocks and caretakers from earlier episodes to imagine what changes when the city commits to access, equity, and shared responsibility. Through conversations with rescuers, policy leaders, and community members, we outline a scalable blueprint: expanding affordable vet care, investing in prevention, strengthening neighborhood care networks, and building humane infrastructure that keeps families together. It’s a hopeful vision shaped by the people closest to the problem and to the solution. Featured Voices: * Rosario Washburn — Colony Caretaker * Hanna Lentz — Executive Director, SPARC Learn More / Related Links * Supporting People & Animal Relationships for Change (SPARC) website [https://www.sparcinsight.org/] * Treehouse Humane Society’s website [https://treehouseanimals.org/] * To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org [https://www.flatbushcats.org/] * Full episode transcript here [https://flatbushcats.substack.com/p/episode-6-transcript]. Underfoot is hosted by Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall. Field reporting by Sarah Gabrielli, with additional reporting by Priscilla Alabi. Episodes were recorded at Good Studio in Brooklyn, and mixed and mastered by Will Whatley. Podcast art was created by Lazy Chief and the series was Executive Produced by None Other. Subscribe to Underfoot wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation [https://flatbushcats.fillout.com/podcast_feedback] — share your questions, reactions, or stories with us. Your voice might even make it into a future episode. Ready to get more involved? Subscribe to our newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/flatbushcats/subscribe-now] now to join our community of 18,000+ passionate animal advocates and follow Flatbush Cats on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @flatbushcats to learn more about our on-the-ground efforts to give cats the life they all deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flatbushcats.substack.com [https://flatbushcats.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 5: Rethinking the Role of Animal Shelters

New York’s cat crisis didn’t appear out of nowhere. It was built through decades of underinvestment and policy decisions that left no agency truly responsible for animal welfare. In this episode, we examine why the city has been so slow to act and how bureaucratic gaps and fragmented authority make progress nearly impossible. We explore what a prevention-first model could look like — citywide spay/neuter programs, nonprofit veterinary clinics in every neighborhood, and a system designed to stop cat math before it starts. Featured Voices: List the main people (and sometimes cats!) heard in the episode: * Justin Brannan — New York City Councilmember, 47th district Learn More / Related Links * Watch the full September 2024 hearing on the state of animal rescue in New York City here [https://citymeetings.nyc/meetings/new-york-city-council/2024-09-13-1000-am-committee-on-health/], or you can jump to DOHMH questioning on spaying and neutering outdoor cats here [https://citymeetings.nyc/meetings/new-york-city-council/2024-09-13-1000-am-committee-on-health/chapter/discussion-on-spayneuter-requirements-and-dohmh-enforcement/]. * News clips at the top of the episode came from a 2023 NBC New York segment [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhJH4cmTMa0]. * To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org [https://www.flatbushcats.org/] * Full episode transcript here [https://flatbushcats.substack.com/p/episode-5-transcript]. Underfoot is hosted by Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall. Field reporting by Sarah Gabrielli, with additional reporting by Priscilla Alabi. Episodes were recorded at Good Studio in Brooklyn, and mixed and mastered by Will Whatley. Podcast art was created by Lazy Chief and the series was Executive Produced by None Other. Subscribe to Underfoot wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation [https://flatbushcats.fillout.com/podcast_feedback] — share your questions, reactions, or stories with us. Your voice might even make it into a future episode. Ready to get more involved? Subscribe to our newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/flatbushcats/subscribe-now] now to join our community of 18,000+ passionate animal advocates and follow Flatbush Cats on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @flatbushcats to learn more about our on-the-ground efforts to give cats the life they all deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flatbushcats.substack.com [https://flatbushcats.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 4: The Cost of Caring

As the city’s animal safety net fails, rescue volunteers step in — pouring their time, money, and emotional energy into a crisis they didn’t create. This episode follows caretakers and rescuers managing entire colonies on their own, waking at dawn to feed dozens of cats, spending their own money on medical care, and experiencing the burnout that comes from doing the city’s work for free. Inside Flatbush Cats’ holding space, volunteers share both the relief of making a difference and the toll of carrying a burden this large. The episode lays bare a core truth: relying on unpaid labor isn’t a system — it’s a symptom of one that isn’t working. Featured Voices: * Sassee Walker — Colony Caretaker * Karen Sabbie Smith — Colony Caretaker * Wander * Tanya Copeland — Founder, Bronx Community Cats * Steve West — Holding Space Volunteer, Flatbush Cats * Zoe Griffith — Holding Space Volunteer, Flatbush Cats Learn More / Related Links: * To learn more about Tayna Copeland’s work with Bronx Community Cats, visit bronxcommunitycats.org [http://bronxcommunitycats.org]. * To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org [https://www.flatbushcats.org/] * Full episode transcript here [https://flatbushcats.substack.com/p/episode-4-transcript]. Underfoot is hosted by Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall. Field reporting by Sarah Gabrielli, with additional reporting by Priscilla Alabi. Episodes were recorded at Good Studio in Brooklyn, and mixed and mastered by Will Whatley. Podcast art was created by Lazy Chief and the series was Executive Produced by None Other. Subscribe to Underfoot wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation [https://flatbushcats.fillout.com/podcast_feedback] — share your questions, reactions, or stories with us. Your voice might even make it into a future episode. Ready to get more involved? Subscribe to our newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/flatbushcats/subscribe-now] now to join our community of 18,000+ passionate animal advocates and follow Flatbush Cats on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @flatbushcats to learn more about our on-the-ground efforts to give cats the life they all deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flatbushcats.substack.com [https://flatbushcats.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 3: The Real Price of Pet Ownership

The cost of caring for a pet in New York City has skyrocketed, putting even basic veterinary care out of reach for many households. In this episode, we hear from families navigating impossible choices, from high intake fees to relying on food stamps to feed their cats. We unpack how affordability, access, and inequality converge to leave more pets at risk, and more cats struggling outside. Featured Voices: * Karen Sabbie Smith — Colony Caretaker * Nicolle Bradford — Community Member, Sally’s mom * Mike Begej — Colony Caretaker * Sassee Walker — Colony Caretaker * Miss Pam — Colony Caretaker * Patrice Johnson — Colony Caretaker * Andrea Phillips — Community Member; Mom to Coco, Romano, and Asiago * Andrea Westmoreland — Community Member, Grace’s mom * Maxwell Branch — Community Program Director, Flatbush Cats Learn More / Related Links: * To learn more about Flatbush Cats, visit our website: flatbushcats.org [https://www.flatbushcats.org/] * Full episode transcript here [https://flatbushcats.substack.com/p/episode-3-transcript]. Underfoot is hosted by Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall. Field reporting by Sarah Gabrielli, with additional reporting by Priscilla Alabi. Episodes were recorded at Good Studio in Brooklyn, and mixed and mastered by Will Whatley. Special thanks to d3tails [https://anthonypecoraro.bandcamp.com/album/last-drink-of-the-summer] for sharing their music for this episode. Podcast art was created by Lazy Chief and the series was Executive Produced by None Other. Subscribe to Underfoot wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation [https://flatbushcats.fillout.com/podcast_feedback] — share your questions, reactions, or stories with us. Your voice might even make it into a future episode. Ready to get more involved? Subscribe to our newsletter [https://mailchi.mp/flatbushcats/subscribe-now] now to join our community of 18,000+ passionate animal advocates and follow Flatbush Cats on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @flatbushcats to learn more about our on-the-ground efforts to give cats the life they all deserve. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit flatbushcats.substack.com [https://flatbushcats.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]