NYC : 2013 MAYORAL ELECTION …

It's March 2011 and counting. By January 2013, the race for mayor should be in full swing. September 2013 … Primary Day. At this point, it seems like it might be a packed house – at least according to AM-NY, which recently ran a story about the hopefuls. Click here.

TOP CONTENDERS: The top contenders mentioned in the article were Bill Thompson, Anthony Weiner, Christine Quinn, Scott Stringer, John Liu and Bill DeBlasio. A side bar in the paper version mentioned long shots, but still possibilities, as Tony Avella and Marty Markowitz. This, of course, is just for the Democratic primary. A wealthy dark horse could step up at any time as Mr. Bloomberg did in 2001 and knock everybody out of the race with the dazzle of money.

For those of us who care about NYC’s animals and how they continue to be short shrifted, immediately cross Christine Quinn and John Liu off the list. Quinn is so far successfully manipulating some of the large ineffective animal organizations into promoting her as being good for animals. She is not and never has been. The bills she recently passed were pathetic, light weight bills that were either unenforceable or would do little to nothing to help animals. Visit this blog for more information.

By animal issues, I specifically mean the ongoing dreadful city shelter catastrophe, where killing cats and dogs daily is the name of the game ... and the ongoing exploitation and institutional abuse of the carriage horses, all in the name of tourism. Of course, the other issue that needs thoughtful and compassionate consideration by a wise executive is the wide spread slaughter of geese that has nationally shamed NYC.

As for Anthony Weiner, he thinks he can be coy by not addressing these hot button issues, but apparently feels comfortable with other issues like opposing the new bike lanes. See the most recent story in the Gothamist.

STRINGER & DEBLASIO: Are Scott Stringer and Bill DeBlasio really planning to run for mayor? That is the question – but here’s the rub if you care about animal issues in NYC …

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer was elected to his current post in 2003. Although he was only supposed to serve for two terms, he decided that he wanted to run for another – to go against the will of the people. It was too irresistible to stay in office. This disrespect of the people who elected him will forever remain stuck in the craw of many. Recently Mr. Stringer was the recipient of a fund raiser directed to people interested in animal issues ... trying to get on their good side; trying to talk the talk.

The truth is that Mr. Stringer has done nothing for either the carriage horses or shelter animals in his nine years in office – not even to use the bully pulpit of the Borough President’s office. Think about it … 9 years … approximately 70 carriage horses disappear off the rolls of the Department of Health per year x 9 … that’s a minimum of 630 horses unaccounted for; 9 years … a minimum of 205,390 cats and dogs killed at Animal Care and Control. [these numbers are taken from the web site of Animal Care & Control of NYC.]

And Mr. DeBlasio as the Public Advocate is no better. Recently an article “written” by Bill DeBlasio appeared in the Huffington Post supporting the electric car bill – Intro 86A – a bill that would substitute vintage replica hybrid cars for the horse carriages, phasing them out over three years. The article was most likely written by someone at NY Class, the organization that supposedly wants this new industry to happen. The only problem is that they have been working on it since 2008 and have never produced a prototype. It is a bill in concept only.

Mr. DeBlasio also did not mention the suffering of the horses in his article; he did not even acknowledge that it is actually Intro 86A, which addresses horse disposition and prevents them from going to slaughter, thanks to our intervention on this bill with Council Member Melissa Mark Viverito, the sponsor.

The sad truth is that Mr. DeBlasio has done nothing for either the carriage horses or the shelter animals in his eight years in office as a Council Member and his one year as Public Advocate – not even to use the bully pulpit of the Public Advocate’s office.

So why should those of us who care about animals support either one for mayor? They are all talk and no action, but they know the animal community is ripe with suckers born every minute. They both know you are an easy mark. Maybe because animal people are so desperate – always looking for a pied piper.

My advice to both Mr. DeBlasio and Mr. Stringer is to actually DO SOMETHING FOR THE ANIMALS. Make us want to support you. Don’t take the “animal” vote for granted because you will not get it.

My advice to animal people is to research all of these candidates and see for yourself. Don’t accept what the “big” organizations say. Question all motives.

This is the most important piece of advice I can impart: The City Council is not a democratic body. Only bills that are supported by Speaker Christine Quinn go anywhere. Council members know this but play the game and “sponsor” bills anyway so they look “good” to their constituents. But I am sorry to tell you that it means nothing because when push comes to shove, it is their vote that counts when and if action is taken on the bill. It is about who stands up to be counted.

A few years ago, a bill dealing with a resolution on humane education made it to a vote. It listed over 40 Council Members as supporters. A naive person would expect that the bill would pass since there are 51 council members and the majority clearly supported this bill. But the bill failed miserably when it came to a vote. Most of those council members voted the way Christine Quinn wanted them to and she was opposed to it.

SENATOR TONY AVELLA: I think a draft Tony Avella for Mayor movement looks better every day. Here is someone who put his career on the line and introduced the historic bill to ban horse drawn carriages in 2007. That took a lot of courage. Albany is lucky to have a state legislator with the drive and integrity of Mr. Avella who won the state senate seat from Queens in 2010. Recently, he reintroduced a bill to ban foie gras – a particularly cruel practice of force feeding ducks for a frivolous pate. See Senator Avella’s home page on the Senate web site.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

-- Know the issues and the facts.
-- If you are not already a Democrat, register to vote now in the Democratic primary, which will be held in September 2013 – because this will be where the action is. Don't wait until the last minute.
-- Join a local Democratic club and get active. At some point, they will endorse a candidate for mayor and you will be able to vote and offer your opinions and affect the decision.

And please support our ongoing campaign. We are independent and tireless. We are currently looking for a City Council member who will support a stand alone bill to save the horses from the slaughter auctions.


Elizabeth Forel
Coalition to ban horse-drawn carriages.
www.banhdc.org
Horses Without Carriages International
www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

MIRACLE ON THE HACK LINE or What I did on my Summer Vacation ... or NYC carriage horses to be treated slightly better.

3/14/10 - New York City carriage horses won a great victory today when it was decided that they would each receive one square inch more in their stalls. Hardly believing the good news, the excited horses neighed and whinnied -- some letting lose a barrage of poop, which unfortunately missed the diaper tied to their rear, landing on a park road right in front of a runner who quickly stepped out of the way. The cyclist behind him was not so lucky. They would have peed, but there had been no water for them in the troughs, which had been turned off.

However the big drafts grumbled at the injustice complaining they will still not be able to stretch out fully, cramping their legs. "Damn" said one, "This is an injustice. Who can I complain to? WTF - Do they think we are ponies or something? I'm tired of standing up to take a damn snooze." Some thought about reaching out to the Teamsters to see if they would take their case and initiate some collective bargaining.

Bruno, a horse from the WS Livery, asked Roger if he was happy about the bigger stalls planned for his stable. “Common, Bruno, don’t be naive." whinnied Roger. You know that most of the stalls were small boxes anyways. This is not a hardship for the owners. They will never give us what we really need to be comfortable."

“Wow, small box stalls ... sweet ” countered Bruno. “Oy Vey! You should see the sh-t hole we live in – if you can call it living. Oh wait, you can, by clicking here. You have access to Youtube, don’t you Rog? Yeah - I suppose they can move walls around to make bigger stalls but the place will always be a hell hole. You should see the fire protection system we have -- sand buckets! I hear they took out the requirement for mandated sprinklers from the bill. That really sucks."

But not to worry, the bill thought of almost everything. As a reward for slaving 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, the horses will be rewarded with a 5-week vacation - weeks not to be taken concurrently. It was thought that the horses might get too used to relaxing and refuse to come back if one week extended into two or more. Most of the horses are so worn out by the time they take a "vacation" that they are in a catatonic state for the first 3-4 days, only beginning to enjoy themselves by the time they are ready to be brought back to their cells to begin the grind all over again.

The horses asked for daily turnout, but the City refused saying that they would prefer to build another stable rather than to give the land up to pasture. "Suck it up" said Speaker Chess Quibly and "stop complaining. " Just remember that I can still make you disappear since I did not change that section of law. Remember I know where Canada and Mexico are," she sneered. "And don't even think about the Teamsters -- or I will get you my pretties. Besides, they have their hands full pretending this trade is really a union. Don't confuse the issue. Besides, how could you even pay? in hay? I don't think so. LOL"

But not to be outdone since he was, after all, the bill’s sponsor, Council Member Gene Roe spat out - "Turn out, turn out?!! You don't need no stinkin' turnout! You still don't get it, do you. It's not about you, you selfish steed. It was never about you. It's about your [slave] driver - he needs more money ... if for nothing else then to line my pockets. Keep this up and I will report your kind to the City Clerk for illegal lobbying."

Some of the horses gave in and were planning on which set of swim trunks to bring on vacation and hoping there would be a big enough swimming pool. "Gee, i hope these horizontal stripes on my trunks don't make me look fat" said a plump Percheron --" I haven't worn them in a year." Others began to brush up on their tennis. "don't forget to bring sun screen" said a dapple gray - "there may not be any shade. And you know how we have to work in NYC when it is reeeeeally hot and humid. I hope they give us spending money for water.”

Many of the horses were very disappointed when they learned that the Department of Health decided not to pursue changes to existing regulations, introduced in January. Pressure from Quibly, they heard, who wanted all the glory. They were particularly upset with the elimination of the section entitled "Drivers Behaving Badly" -- a section that they had anonymously submitted to the Department of Health Commissioner. "It is embarrassing to have your driver reading a comic book, playing video games or talking to his bookie on the phone when we are trying to work" said one of the horses. "They never pay attention. And when they push me into making a u-turn on Central Park South, I just hope that the jerk driving me gets a ticket before he gets me into an accident. The next time this creep stands up in the driving seat while working, pretending to be king of the road, I will jerk him so he falls back on his ass. Hee Hee. He'll think it was a bump in the road. "

The horses also tried to get a weight limit on the customers being pulled in their carriage, but it was considered discrimination. "Take it up with Jimmy Hoffa," snorted one of the drivers. "If you can find him."

Still, it is better than nothing, all the horses agreed - even if it was just to raise the rates for the drivers. "I hope we at least get fresh carrots out of this," said one ..."and maybe some oats without pigeon droppings would be nice. I'm tired of getting limp carrots only when a potential mark comes by. I also wish they would do something about turning on the water troughs in Central Park in the winter."

"Too expensive to add year round piping" said CM Gene Roe. "As I said, any extra money comes my way,MY WAY, dummy. Besides, you do not need water" he said - "you pee too much as it is. Keep this up and I will personally buy you a ticket to Canada."

Roger, a handsome steed, told his stable mates- "keep the faith, my horsey friends. We have never had so much attention showered on us.

There has never been a time in the history of this business that so many people have been fighting to free us from bondage. This is just a temporary setback. I feel it in my withers.

It is only a matter of time, my equine buddies, only a matter of time.

In the meantime, have an apple. They're Fujis."

##

Roger suggests trotting over to http://banhdc.org/ for more information.

WHEN IN ROME ...

You gotta love those Italians – they really know how to make things happen!

It was only a week or so ago, when we heard about the Italian animal rights group in Rome – ENPA - calling for a ban of the horse-drawn carriage industry. Activists took to the street giving out fliers to tourists asking them not to take the carriage rides.

Not wasting any time, the Italian parliament has taken up this cause. Our NYC Council, most of whom have no backbone and do whatever Speaker Christine Quinn dictates, are only good at naming streets, giving themselves raises, getting slush fund money for their favorite groups, and collecting a pay check. Pathetic! Quinn has a tight bond with the Queens Democratic party, which got her into power. It is this party that supports the tiny, tiny carriage industry. They can do no wrong Enough said.

The carriage industry in Rome is accused of routinely fleecing customers; illegally working during the hottest period – 1-5 Pm from July to September and generally treating their horses cruelly. Sounds familiar.

Gianni Mancuso, a deputy for the ruling People of Liberty alliance and a veterinary surgeon, demanded to know what the government “intends to do about this scandal.” He claimed that the drivers worked the horses “to death” sending them to slaughter when they were no longer able to work.

ENPA has appealed to the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to ban the industry and transform their licenses into taxi licenses.

This is the same issue in every city – especially the large ones – that have a horse carriage trade -- New York, Boston, Chicago, Florence, Philadelphia. Horses are exploited to entertain people. They are literally worked to death – wearing heavy tack, blinders, bits and stuck between the shafts of their carriages for hours on end.

We will be following the situation in Rome closely.