Mayor Reed Gusciora offered these insights about the city’s animal crisis in a recent press release from the City of Trenton.
“The welfare of our city’s animals is a priority,” Mayor Gusciora stated. “We owe it to our residents and our furry companions to provide a shelter environment that upholds standards of care, public safety, and animal welfare.”
Make no mistake about this Gusciora message that resonates with his supporters— animals rights have moved ahead of concerns for some people living in the city of Trenton. No need exists for sidestep or a dog-whistled message as furry companions receive better care than the homeless, an estimated 28,000 people living below poverty levels and thousands of undocumented residents queued for food bags throughout this impoverished capital city.
In Trenton, a homeless black dog attracts more care and concern than a Black man without shelter. Case in point, on Saturday, Jan. 13, ten city police officers encountered one Black man experiencing both a mental and physical crisis.
One officer pushed the man, delivered verbal abuse toward him as the officers attempted to remove him from a property near North Clinton Ave. and Mulberry St. The altercation reached an almost unbearable point when the officer screamed, “I want you to grab your s*#t and walk the f+<k off.”
Several police officers helped (Dwayne) collect all his world belongings and left him inside nearby George Page Park as temperatures neared the freezing mark. Mayor Gusciora said nothing about the incident, disconnecting from the reality that we owe it to our (Black) companions to provide a shelter environment that upholds standards of care, public safety, and (their) welfare.”
City Council members followed Gusciora into the unfortunate realm of silence as they relinquished their roles and responsibility to represent our city’s most challenged brothers and sisters. Pastors and other religious leaders muted their microphones. Thank God, Pastor Charles Boyer of Greater Mt. Zion AME Church raised his voice.
“If you judge a society by how well or how poorly it treats its most vulnerable citizens,” Boyer offered, ”then what we saw in that video, from that officer, shows us we have a whole lot of work to do in the soul of the city of Trenton.”
“And, not only is what we saw a function of poverty, don’t get it twisted, it’s a function of racism,” Boyer said. “His only crime was not being houseless, his major crime was being Black.”
A portion of this animals in need of support vs. challenged people debate includes the city’s payment of $13,000 per week to keep 60 dogs inside a Yardley, Pa. kennel. Since September 2022, the kennel arrangement has cost Trenton an estimated $1.1 million in kennel fees, hundreds of thousands in veterinarian fees, plus approximately $300,000 for the purchase of two trailers, plus utilities hookup for structures intended to offset overcrowding at the Trenton Animal Shelter. Gusciora recently issued an executive order
During a November 2023 meeting of City Council, Octavia Sutphin, 74, a city resident, voiced upset that the city budgeted $60,000 for senior citizen activities. Sutphin said she loved dogs, even had a German Shepherd named Hunter as a companion before she could not provide the exercise and attention he needed. Sutphin found her furry friend an adequate home.
“I love animals as much as anyone, dogs especially,” Sutphin explained. “All this money being spent on animals does not sound right to me and looks even worse on paper,” Sutphin said. She asked City Council members to consider their lives if they reach senior citizen status.
“Think about would you want your life and well-being to be on the same scale as a dog? Although we love our pets like family, would you trade your grandmother’s life and well-being for your dog’s life and well-being? How we can put an animal’s life on the same scale as a human being is beyond me.”
Short answer — Black Lives, (especially lives of homeless Black men) Don’t Matter in Trenton.
Now, grab your s*#t and walk the f+<k off.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com.
