WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO STOP THE INSANITY?
Did you know that the ban of the carriage horse trade is dependent on the success of the "electric cars, " which may never happen and if they do, their fate will be left up to tourists?
Did you know that the ban of the carriage horse trade is dependent on the success of the "electric cars, " which may never happen and if they do, their fate will be left up to tourists?
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| injured driver |
What is it going to take to shut down the inhumane and
unsafe carriage trade in NYC? This
question is now being asked with new fervor in light of the recent accident
involving a spooked horse.
Human injuries do
not seem to matter – be it a broken hip suffered by an elderly bike rider a few
years back or more minor scratches and bruises; a driver in a coma for months
close to death; injured horses like the recent Oreo or Doreen, Bud and Charlie
to name a few – or the dead horses – Tony, Spotty, Jackie, Charlie, Juliette,
Smoothie – and these are just the ones that immediately come to mind.
WHO can end the carriage trade in New York City and why
are they not doing anything about it considering that every online poll since 2006 has
shown between 75 and 80 percent of
respondents want this business to be shut down?
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg can use his influence to get such bills passed. But he supports this business. Why? The real truth is anyone’s guess because it simply does not make sense. His daughter is a world-class equestrian, known to oppose this trade – surely she knows that New York City is a very bad environment for horses and I am sure she would never subject her horses to these conditions.
- The Speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, can do the same. She, too, is a big supporter of the carriage trade. Why? It is clearer here because of her allegiance to the Queens Democratic Party, which put her in power. It is all politics. But then, Quinn has killed every meaningful animal issues bill that has been in the Council since she became Speaker – so she obviously does not care.
- The City Council - The Council is not a democratic body. For the most part, which means almost always, Council Members vote the way the Speaker tells them. If not, they risk losing their committee chairs and lucrative stipends that the Speaker doles out. Unfortunately, there are virtually no City Council Members with a backbone to stand up to Quinn and say – “Enough is Enough! Let’s get those horses off the street before someone is killed.”
- The State Legislature – there is a real chance here with the bill sponsored by Senator Tony Avella and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal. The bill is essentially the same as the historic one Senator Avella introduced in the City Council in 2007 when he was a Council Member. One big problem with this bill is that it needs a Home Rule approval memo from the City Council, which is unlikely to happen. However, the bill will be reintroduced in January when the State Legislature reconvenes and it will address these issues. Stay tuned.
- A new humane mayor. Ah there is the rub. Who will it be?
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| Oreo - victim of accident |
On September 23rd, Senator Tony Avella was
interviewed by the Queens Chronicle about the September 16th
accident in which Oreo, a young carriage horse, spooked on Central Park South
from a truck or loud construction noise as his driver was making an illegal
u-turn. He bolted into traffic,
dragging his carriage with two tourists, sans driver, behind him, crashing into
cars as he panicked. He was eventually
stopped and tranquilized by police.
This never should have happened. NYC traffic is an abomination and is no place for such a volatile,
unpredictable and powerful animal.
“Enough is enough,” Avella said. “How many more
accidents, injuries and deaths is it going to take before we end this inhumane
industry?
One of the carriage drivers caught on videotape countered with the
response ”accidents happen.”
Christina Hansen, spokesperson for the Horse and Carriage Association of
New York, said, "Just because a horse once in a
blue moon spooks, doesn’t mean something terrible is going to happen." Fox
News 8-17-12. Many people would beg to
differ. There is no necessity for the
carriage horse business to exist and thus, no accidents need occur.
Horses are nervous prey animals who
can spook and bolt at the slightest provocation. At 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, they become unwitting weapons and can
seriously injure or kill themselves or bystanders. In 2010, a bystander was killed in Saltzburg, Austria when a spooked horse plowed into her. She died from head injuries.
So why is the City Council not standing
up to Christine Quinn and demanding a true ban – instead of trying to pass the
destructive electric car bill? With
this bill, a ban of the horses will depend on the success of the electric cars,
which are much too expensive and probably will not happen. They are wasting their time and the time of
trusting activists. At approximately $175,000
per car, the supporters would need to raise $11,900,000 to replace 68 carriages over
a three-year period. This is not
realistic. They apparently have not
even been able to raise $400,000 for the prototype. One scenario, and the worst thing that can happen, is that they would only be able to raise a few million dollars for perhaps ten
cars. Investors lose interest and are
maxed out because the cars are not catching on. Why invest in a white elephant? Then this cruel and unsafe business will
never be banned. The cars will coexist
alongside the carriage horses, which is never what any of us wanted. Accidents will continue to happen.
And it is all because the ASPCA,
PETA, HSUS and NY Class will not support and put their collective
energy behind a real ban - i.e. the
Avella/Rosenthal bill - and have convinced some people to support a bill that
will be a disaster if passed. What animal organizations are doing with pretending to create a new tourist industry instead of supporting and putting their energy into a full ban is beyond my comprehension.
And please let’s forget this drivel
about keeping tourist dollars. Most people
come to NYC for something other than a ride on a carriage. When someone pays $50 for a carriage ride,
considering it is a cash only business, how much of that is turned over to the
government for taxes? Other than during
the holiday season, the carriages often do not have customers. If NY Class, the creator of this project,
wants to sponsor an electric car business, let them do it - but after the carriage trade
is shut down and the horses are safe. A ban of the horse-drawn carriage trade should not be dependent on the success of the electric cars.
Jobs? The carriage drivers will not drive the electric cars because
they are opposed to this new industry.
So even if the cars happen, the hired drivers will come from another job
pool. It is not a “win/win” as the supporters like to
promote. It will not save those
particular jobs.
And about those particular
jobs? The drivers have been put on notice for many years that something
like this would happen. How much longer
are legislators going to allow them to hold NYC hostage? And how much longer are people who want a
ban going to let the City Council get away with inaction? There are only about 150 people in the
business who are full time. Why is the
City Council making such a big deal about this? Other people lose their jobs and no one is crying about them –
including government workers, corporate workers, and those who work in stores
that have shut down because of high rents or neighborhood gentrification. Why is this trade so entitled? That said – Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal
has said she will work with the drivers to find them new employment. And the good news is that jobs in the
tourist sector have grown.
Read what Councilmember Vincent
Gentile says about the cars in an interview he gave to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
on August 22 in an article entitled. Gentile works on horse carriage compromise.
- Gentile said that while he has
respect for animal rights advocates, he is also aware of the importance of
carriage horses to the city’s tourist industry, an industry that brings in
millions of dollars a year.
Because carriage driving is a cash
only business, Council Member Gentile has no idea how much the carriage trade
brings in and should not be making these kinds of statements without
providing proof. Other than during the holiday
season in November and December, the carriages are often seen lined up with no
passengers and bored horses.
- “It’s a tourist attraction, so we have to be careful. You want
to protect the carriage horses and you want to protect the jobs of the people
who operate the carriage horses,” he said.
Why is the City being held a
prisoner to this business? Unless this
tie is broken, there will never be any progress. Why is it so necessary to protect these jobs and not those of so
many other people who have lost their jobs in this economy?
And this from the article:
Under the pilot program, the
carriage horses would co-exist with electric-powered cars, Gentile said.
Tourists would be given a choice of whether they would want to ride around
Central Park and midtown in a quiet car, or a horse-drawn carriage.
“And we would let the public decide
which is better,” the councilman said.
This is the kicker and the reason
why this bill is dangerous and should not be supported! Why should the public –
tourists who may never come back to NYC – decide about the safety of New
Yorkers and the future of the carriage horses? This is a frightening and absurd statement!
The carriage horse business has
proven itself to be very unsafe and must be shut down. What is the City Council waiting for – a
death? Will that even make them stand
up and take real action?
Since more and more people have
become aware of our organization, which started the ban campaign in 2006, we
have been hearing from people about carriage horse accidents. In the last year there have been about 11
incidents in NYC that we let the press know about. The drivers are not required to report accidents – such as
spooked horses or being clipped by a car – and the ASPCA ‘s Humane Law
Enforcement division is not subject to the Freedom of Information Law. They have knowledge of many more accidents
but refuse to make the information public.
The only bill worthy of support to
shut down this anachronistic business and save the horses is the one in
Albany sponsored by Senator Tony Avella and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal. –
S5013/A7748. It will be reintroduced in
January and will address concerns about Home Rule.
In the meantime, please sign our petition on Change.org in support of this bill. E-mails will automatically be sent to state legislators.
And please disabuse yourself of the
idea that Intro 86A, the bill necessary to pass to create the electric cars,
will help the carriage horses. There is
a great possibility it will hurt the horses in the long run.
Let’s shut down the carriage
business first.
Save the horses – and
if “they” still want to go through with the electric cars – I say “knock
yourself out.”
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The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages started the "ban campaign" in 2006. We are all grass roots activists with no paid employees. Our sole concern is to shut down the carriage trade and save the horses. Visit us at www.banhdc.org; e-mail us for our newsletter at coalition@banhdc.org and join our Facebook page by clicking here.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages started the "ban campaign" in 2006. We are all grass roots activists with no paid employees. Our sole concern is to shut down the carriage trade and save the horses. Visit us at www.banhdc.org; e-mail us for our newsletter at coalition@banhdc.org and join our Facebook page by clicking here.
