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‘Slaughterhouse’ Stopped

In what local politicians are billing as a major victory for the community, it was announced that R and B Live Poultry, located at 124-24 Farmers Boulevard, will not be opening now or ever. The live slaughterhouse was going to house and slaughter live lamb, sheep, goats, ducks and chickens. The slaughterhouse shared an adjoining fence with long term residential housing. Community residents have been demonstrating and picketing in front of the slaughterhouse for two months.
Scarborough said it was May 30th when he convened a meeting of city and state agencies, which included the Dept. of Agriculture and the Dept. of Buildings and presented them a mountain of research detailing the many health hazards having a live slaughterhouse so close to families and children would inflict on innocent home owners. They said there was nothing they could do to stop this slaughterhouse from opening due to zoning regulations. Scarborough said you would expect these agencies to protect us from these risks, and they were willing to put us at risk. He said now he was going to fight to change the city regulations that allow businesses hazardous to the health of the community to exist among residential housing.
Scarborough scheduled the first of many meetings for the community and the Stop The Slaughterhouse Committee was formed. Their mission was to do anything necessary to prevent the opening of a slaughterhouse next to residential homes, and that included going to court. NYS Committeewoman and local attorney Joan Flowers represented the Committee and the community pro bono. We didn’t have the funds to wage a legal battle, Scarborough said, and we’re lucky Joan Flowers was willing to fight for this community. He added she was fantastic in court. Flowers successfully obtained a temporary injunction, which prevented the slaughterhouse from opening. When she returned to court a second time, over 30 community residents went with her, packing the court room.
On Tuesday, August 5th, Governor Paterson signed into law Bill A246, which prevents any live slaughterhouse from operating within 1500 feet of residential housing and is effective immediately, The bill was introduced by Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, who fought unsuccessfully to prevent a similar situation from occurring on Springfield Boulevard, a block south from her district office and Antun’s Catering Hall. She put in this bill four years ago. Scarborough cosponsored the bill. Clark said it was both Scarborough and herself who helped make the coalition in Albany that got this bill passed in both the Assembly and State Senate.