Animal activists are accusing a principal at a Coney Island school of being like a real-life Cruella de Vil for not saving two stray cats that have repeatedly been buried by snowplows this winter.
Suzanne Hernandez, an animal lover and caretaker of a cat colony at IS 303 for over a decade, found her efforts hindered when Principal Shanesha White-Bailey took charge in 2022 and prohibited her from housing the cats at the school.
This year, Ms. Bailey ordered the removal of a small shelter made from Styrofoam and plastic that had provided some refuge for the cats in the school’s parking lot. Activists argue this has forced the cats to seek shelter under shipping containers during inclement weather.
Hernandez noted that during snowstorms on January 25 and February 22, the two remaining cats, 12-year-old Freddy and 8-year-old Blackie, became completely trapped underneath a shipping container after plowing operations at the school.
Photos reveal that the space beneath the container is sealed, leaving the cats with no chance to escape.
Determined to save them, Hernandez and her 75-year-old husband, Edwin, dug a pathway to rescue the felines from their icy confinement.
“I cry every day,” Hernandez expressed. “Why would you want to hurt these animals? It breaks my heart.”
After a heavy snowfall of 18 inches on February 22 and 23, Hernandez relayed that they rescued the cats three times, as they became trapped repeatedly due to the snow from a handheld blower.
“Every time they piled snow back on them,” she explained, depicting her ongoing struggle.
Hernandez recalled a troubling encounter: “I asked a doctor, ‘Have you seen the cat?’ and he told me, ‘Cat lady, get out of here!’ That’s how they talk to me,” she lamented.
Now, Hernandez, along with the Legal Action Network for Animals, is seeking permission from the principal to care for the cats on school property, while they currently feed one across the street.
“Mr. Hernandez reached out to the Animal Legal Action Network for assistance. LANA sent a letter to school officials requesting they not interfere with his efforts or harm the cat in any way,” said attorney Nora Marino from LANA.
“It’s a straightforward issue. Caring for a cat benefits nobody negatively. It’s about compassion,” she emphasized.
As of now, neither the Department of Education nor Principal White-Bailey have responded to requests for comments regarding the situation.
