25-44 82nd St.
Dec. 27, 2021 By Christian Murray
An East Elmhurst animal hoarder who served jail time in 2018 for animal cruelty has been charged once again for keeping animals in poor condition in her home.
Elizabeth Grant, 53, of 25-44 82nd St., was arraigned Wednesday after police found dozens of unfed animals living inside her rancid-smelling house in the past month.
She was also in violation of a 2018 court order, according to authorities, where she was prohibited from owning animals for 10 years after being convicted for a similar offense.
The cops were alerted to the filth on Nov. 26, 2021 after a NYC Adult Protective Services employee visited Grant’s home to check on the wellbeing of her elderly mother. The city employee was greeted to the sight of feces and the smell of ammonia from urine.
There were cats, dogs, turtles, guinea pigs and rabbits living in her house, according to authorities. Many animals were emaciated.
Animal welfare groups went to her home on Nov. 26 and rescued 29 animals, although some animals scurried away and could not be captured. Cops, with a court order, searched her premises on Dec. 22, and rescued additional animals.
“Pets are not inanimate toys. They are living, breathing members of our households who, at a bare minimum, deserve to be cared for and kept healthy,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. “Instead, this defendant is alleged to have kept her pets in filth with unaddressed diseases and other ailments.”
Grant, following the Nov. 26 incident, was charged on an 87-count complaint charging her with failure to provide proper food and drink to the animals and criminal contempt for violating a 2018 court order.
She was hit with a second criminal complaint charging her with animal cruelty and criminal contempt stemming from the Dec. 22 search.
Grant has had several run-ins with the law stemming from animal hoarding.
She was convicted in April 2018 of 108 counts of animal cruelty for failing to provide adequate care for the animals she housed. She was sentenced to 3 years probation, required to undergo mental counseling, and was prohibited from owning animals for at least 10 years.
However, in August 2018, when a probation officer visited to check up on her, Grant was observed once again keeping pets.
The probation officer found more than a dozen malnourished animals in filthy, unsanitary conditions. Grant, who became irate at the time, pushed the probation officer down some stairs. She spent 14 months behind bars for violating her parole and for the assault.
Grant currently faces up to 3 years in prison if convicted of her charges. She has been ordered to return to court on March 22, 2022.
