Mamdani’s new animal welfare chief has a mission: Protect pets and their caretakers

By Barbara Russo-Lennon

Posted on October 30, 2026

Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently appointed animal rescuer and advocate Allie Taylor as director of his Office of Animal Welfare. Taylor is widely known throughout New York for her work at Voters for Animal Rights (VFAR), an organization that she founded in 2016 to establish and promote animal protection laws.

A resident of Bushwick, Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband Scott, two daughters, and two fluffy cats adopted from the city’s Animal Care Centers, Taylor advises and assists the mayor and coordinates policies across city agencies to help animals and support pet owners.

See the full article at amNY