RAYMOND B. NORMANDEAU
Press Secretary for Queensbridge Houses Tenant Council
Apartment 5B, 41-04 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11101 *
September 7, 1990
SOLOMON PEEPLES
NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
PEST CONTROL
12-26 31 AVENUE
ASTORIA, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11102
Greetings
I am writing on the behalf of the eighteen thousand residents of
Queensbridge Houses, the largest New York City Housing Authority
housing project.
There recently seems to have been an upsurge in mice and rat
infestation in and about Queensbridge Houses. In my own apartment my
wife and I caught 10 or 11 mice within the last 2 months. We have
been living in our apartment since 1973 and it is only this summer
that we have EVER seen a mouse in our apartment.
It has been suggested that we get a cat to catch mice.
As our lease with the New York City Housing Authority says that pets
are not allowed, I called the New York City Housing Authority Legal
Department to discuss this matter.
New York City Housing Authority Legal Department attorney Ted
Kwasnik on September 7, 1990 stated that pets are not allowed in
apartments and that animals are pets. I then pointed out my
understanding that a legal precedent had been set establishing that
Seeing Eye Dogs were not considered pets, as their purpose was not
that of providing companionship etc. that pets normally provide, but
rather that Seeing Eye Dogs were used for a particular purpose other
then that commonly defined as the purpose of a pet.
Mr Kwasnik then stated: "You would have to get your cat certified
like a Seeing Eye Dog gets certified, so if there is a training
school that certifies cats as mice catchers, I think that you'll win
your case."
My purpose in writing to you is to ascertain what if any precedence
has been set in NYC in regards to apartment dwellers having cats for
the purpose of catching mice and if your office has any information
regarding certification of cats as mice catchers. Could the New York
City Housing Authority contest the cat's certification if a minimum
amount of mice were not caught in a given time frame, and what
proof, if any, could the New York City Housing Authority require,
that a "Mouse Catcher" cat was indeed catching mice? If the New York
City Housing Authority required proof of mouse catching and the cat
ate most of the mouse, could the New York City Housing Authority
Legal Department possibly be satisfied by giving them a piece of
tail?
Thank you.
