<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*qG2keT5Y0jh7xzywNu5oIg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://council.nyc.gov/district-51/">District 51 — Frank Morano — New York City Council</a></figcaption></figure><p>When Keith Powers introduced Int. 1471 last year, it was the first time any city in America had proposed legislation recognizing bodega cats as working animals. Your signature helped make that happen.</p><p>Now, Powers is leaving office at the end of December due to term limits. The bill is still with the Committee on Health and hasn’t received a hearing yet.</p><p>So I reached out to the co-sponsors this week to ask who would carry it forward.</p><p>Councilmember Frank Morano responded in 11 minutes. He’s taking over as prime sponsor.</p><p>Morano represents Staten Island’s South Shore. He’s a Republican, which means Int. 1471 now has bipartisan leadership. Earlier this year, he went to bat for Lucy, a 15-year-old pet pig facing removal under city regulations. He understands the gap between how the law treats animals and how communities actually live with them.</p><p>The new Council session begins in January. The next step is getting a hearing scheduled with the Health Committee. I’ll be in touch with Morano’s office in early 2026 to push for a timeline.</p><p>If you want to follow what happens next, Change.org isn’t the best place for updates. I’m moving all bodega cat news to my own newsletter. You can sign up here:</p><p><a href="https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/">https://bodegacatsofnewyork.com/</a></p><p>I’m also finishing a book about the cats and owners I’ve documented over the past four years. More on that soon.</p><p>Thanks for signing. 13,000 people told the city these cats matter. That’s why we have a bill at all.</p><p>Dan Rimada Bodega Cats of New York</p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=23e81e0de8bc" width="1" height="1" alt="">

<p>Zohran Mamdani takes office on January 1, 2026. Before the election, social media had his back. Cats4Zohran, an Instagram account with 11,000 followers, rallied support with the tagline “Cats catvassing for Zohran!” Days before the vote, Mamdani appeared on Shop Cats, the viral TikTok show hosted by Michelladonna. He met a bodega cat named Coca in the Bronx, danced bachata, and told the camera: “I love bodega cats.”</p><p>The cat community showed up for him. The question now is whether he will show up for bodega cats.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/700/1*qcAvk_BJr2SByZH-dIO1GQ.jpeg" /></figure><p><strong>The bill on his desk</strong></p><p>Int. 1471 is currently in the City Council’s Committee on Health. If it clears committee and passes a full Council vote, it goes to the mayor for signature. Keith Powers, who introduced the bill, is term-limited and leaves office at the end of December. Mamdani will be the one who signs or vetoes it.</p><p>The bill does three things: it stops NYC agencies from citing stores for having cats, it creates free vaccination and spay/neuter programs through the Office of Animal Welfare, and it requires multilingual outreach so store owners know these services exist.</p><p>It is narrow legislation. It does not cost much. It has bipartisan co-sponsors. It aligns with Mamdani’s stated support for small businesses and affordability. There is no obvious reason for him to oppose it.</p><p>But he has not said whether he supports it.</p><p><strong>What he has said</strong></p><p>During the campaign, Mamdani talked about bodegas in the context of his city-run grocery store proposal. He reassured bodega owners that his plan was not intended to compete with them. “I both recognize and I appreciate the work that they have done,” he told CBS News. “The fact is that they are a critical part of our communities.”</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*bA8QzpjVUypwDr4kHgz18A.png" /></figure><p>That statement was about grocery competition, not cats. On Int. 1471 specifically, his transition team and campaign have been silent.</p><p>The Shop Cats appearance was good politics. Mamdani understood that bodega cats are part of NYC’s identity, and that appearing on a viral cat show would resonate with younger voters. It worked. But saying “I love bodega cats” on TikTok is not the same as committing to sign a bill that protects them.</p><p><strong>What we do not know</strong></p><p>Mamdani’s priorities for his first months in office are ambitious: rent freezes, free buses, city-run grocery stores, public safety reform. Int. 1471 is unlikely to be near the top of that list. It is a small bill with limited budget implications. It does not require much political capital to pass.</p><p>That could work in the bill’s favor. A popular, low-cost measure with bipartisan support is an easy early win. Signing it signals that Mamdani cares about the small, specific things that make New York feel like New York.</p><p>Or the bill could sit in committee while bigger fights take priority. Without Powers pushing from the Council side, Int. 1471 needs a new champion. Someone has to request a hearing. Someone has to move it forward. If no one does, the bill stalls regardless of who sits in the mayor’s office.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*Z5ClTNsY_CezvYhGi8WtZA.jpeg" /></figure><p><strong>The ask</strong></p><p>Mamdani benefited from the cat vote. Cats4Zohran, Shop Cats, and thousands of New Yorkers who care about bodega cats helped build the energy that carried him to City Hall.</p><p>Now he has a chance to return the favor. Int. 1471 is ready. The petition that sparked it collected over 13,000 signatures. The bill has been drafted, introduced, and assigned to committee. The groundwork is done.</p><p>What bodega cats need from Mayor Mamdani is simple: a public statement of support for Int. 1471, and a signature when it reaches his desk.</p><p>He said he loves bodega cats. This is how he proves it.</p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=a8e247c6372c" width="1" height="1" alt="">