Rockland Green’s Blatant Disregard For Its Contractual Obligations Was Consistent With Its Lack Of Regard For The Shelter, The Animals & Hi Tor’s Staff

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Carefully Negotiated Contract Built In Protections For Hi Tor For Exactly This Sort Of Arbitrary Abuse Of Rockland Green’s Power

By Rick Tannenbaum

News reached me yesterday that Rockland Green voted to terminate its contract with Hi Tor Animal Care Center and oust it from the shelter it occupied and ran for the last 60 years. The ouster took place yesterday at 5 pm when Rockland Green changed the locks and gave the keys to the operator of a local cat rescue. All Hi Tor employees were terminated and a select few employees, all non-managerial, were offered the opportunity to reapply for jobs with the new operator.

There are so many problems with this that it is hard to unpack everything that Rockland Green has done both in violation of the contract with Hi Tor and with the law.

Some background. I was the Executive Director of Hi Tor from January 3^rd to September 1^st of this year. I’ve just been told by multiple sources that my termination was orchestrated by Rockland Green’s Executive Director Gerard Damiani, Jr. based on false promises of a ‘bright future’ between Rockland Green and Hi Tor once I was out of the way. The Hi Tor Board co-Presidents Kim Von Hein and Gary Kogut participated in this ruse, and terminated me with no notice, on the very day that the ASPCA supported and endorsed my operation of the shelter and the skills and commitment of my staff.

This also occurred shortly after New York State AgMarkets scored Hi Tor at 100 percent compliant in our most recent inspection and license renewal.

Interviews with the staff will universally reveal that the shelter was running perhaps “as best as it ever had, probably better” under my management.

In the eight months that I ran the shelter, I was never notified of any alleged “breach” of our contract.  Yes, I pushed back at the forced “open admission” policy Rockland Green imposed on Hi Tor. It was simply not humane to accept any animal, in any condition, at any time, regardless of its health, injuries, diseases, or available room at the shelter. Best practices dictated managed intake of animals, but Rockland Green was indifferent to the realities on the ground and just kept pushing us to intake any animal that showed up at our door.

In addition to running the shelter since January, in December of 2022, I also negotiated the contract between Hi Tor and Rockland Green, and being suspect of Rockland Green’s motives, insisted on protecting Hi Tor from exactly this sort of arbitrary act.

Yes, Rockland Green had a right to terminate Hi Tor’s contract at any time but only on two conditions: (1) only with cause; and (2) with 30 days advance notice.

Further, paragraph 15 of the contract provided even more protection to Hi Tor, and required not only 30-days written notice of termination, but specifically allowed Hi Tor to defeat termination by curing the default complained about within those same 30 days. And because distrust was so high, I negotiated an additional clause that read, “if any such default is not curable within such notice period, by promptly commencing to cure the default and diligently pursuing all necessary and appropriate action to effect such cure within sixty (60) days of the original thirty (30) day notice.”

This clause effectively gave Hi Tor up to 90 days to cure any default alleged by Rockland Green. The contract I negotiated with Rockland Green had multiple safeguards built into it. Good cause, 30 days notice, 30 days to cure, and an additional sixty days after that.

Rockland Green’s Board, all elected officials (five town supervisors, mayors, and Rockland County legislators) all sworn to uphold the law and the Constitution approved and ratified this contract back in January, and then in September, voted unanimously to disregard the very commitments it made in the contract and knowingly and willingly decided to breach it without regard to the consequences to the animals, staff or the organization.

Hi Tor was given four hours’ notice to clear out while the new operator waited at the gate to take over. Rockland Green ordered all of Hi Tor’s employees fired. When and how did Rockland Green obtain the authority to terminate the employees of its service provider?

Then, to add insult to injury, Rockland Green arranged for the Sheriff’s Office to prevent Hi Tor from removing any of its property from the premises. Everything at that shelter from furniture to computers to cages to veterinary equipment belonged to Hi Tor. And because there was little trust when the contract was negotiated, I insisted on a clause to protect Hi Tor, and provided that upon termination, Hi Tor would retain ownership of all of its property with the right to remove it.

Rockland Green trampled on that clause and effectively handed all of Hi Tor’s assets over to the new operator, and likely opened itself and taxpayers to a lawsuit for damages in what is likely millions of dollars of property, illegally converted. Converted may be too soft a word. I call it outright theft.

When Hi Tor’s Board Presidents acceded to Rockland Green’s demands to terminate my services, it also surrendered the only firewall protecting it from Rockland Green.

If our elected officials, many of whom are up for re-election can’t honor a basic contract with an animal shelter, and can’t be trusted to follow the law, what are we really to expect from them in other matters?

Here’s the reality. Each and every animal in Hi Tor’s care is unique, with their own diets, medical needs, social needs, bathroom needs, behavioral conditions, and triggers. Many are dangerous with bite histories. Rockland Green tossed the new operator in with no knowledge of any of the animals’ needs and no transition plan. Hi Tor had close to 300 animals under its care. All continuity of care will be lost. All of the managers (feline, canine, or office) who have years of experience with the animals and the shelter have been ordered not to return. Rockland Green probably plans to exploit the few Hi Tor employees who hope to hang on for whatever knowledge they have before terminating them too.

Any public entity that actually was concerned with the welfare of the animals, any public entity that had compassion for the dedicated staff that cared for those animals, and any public entity that had any regard for the law or its contractual obligations would have handled this matter differently.

But Rockland Green has never shown the slightest regard for the animals, the staff, or the shelter, and never will. It’s takeover of animal management in the County is and always will be nothing but folly, vanity, and a grab for more power by its Chairman and Board.