NYC PUBLIC FORUM ON ANIMAL ISSUES ... and Carriage Horses

on the NYC Carriage Horse issue

New York State Senator Tony Avella held a public forum on animal issues on Friday January 17^th in New York City  The room was packed and many people provided testimony on a variety of issues - carriage horses, shelter system, foie gras, devocalization, circuses, wildlife, geese slaughter, humane law enforcement.  Connections were made and business cards exchanged.  Senator Avella promised to follow through on several issues.   This is my testimony with additional notes subsequently added:

The horse drawn carriage trade has been the subject of controversy for many years – long before we began our campaign in 2006.  It has always enjoyed the unconditional support of

Animal Protection Forum 1/17/14

past Administrations [1]and although regulated by several agencies, it pretty much operated in a laizzez-faire way – most of the regulations were not enforced.  So we are very pleased that Mayor deBlasio has said he will end the business.  But we are very concerned with the how and when.

These slow-moving dangerous and flimsy conveyances do not belong in the heavily congested streets of NYC in 2014.  Horses are prey animals and are predictably unpredictable – they spook easily and can bolt into traffic causing mayhem.  These sensitive animals become unwitting weapons who can kill or injure themselves or passersby.  Human deaths have happened in other cities[2] and if this business is allowed to continue, it is only a matter of time before someone is killed here.  NYC has so far dodged the bullet.  But this luck will run out if nothing is done.

Since 2006, we have documentation for 34 accidents but we are convinced that many more have occurred.  The law does not require that drivers report an accident; does not require the ASPCA to reveal them to the public; and does not require the NYPD to even make a report at the scene of an accident.  There is no transparency in this business and it is very intentional.

But the public is not stupid.  Since 2006, every online poll taken has revealed that between 75 and 80 percent of respondents want a ban of horse-drawn carriages.  More than 130,000 people have signed our petition in support of the Avella/Rosenthal bill to ban horse-drawn carriages.  These polls were taken in a more neutral environment generally after one of the many carriage accidents happened.  The recent one time only Quinnipiac poll that shows a majority of people being opposed to a ban is the result of several months worth of manipulated pro carriage trade reporting by the media.  it is the result of yellow journalism.    

In the last few weeks, the media has reported on this issue with much misinformation.  They have excluded from the dialog advocates for a ban  and created their own stories favoring the

NYC accident; horse spooked and fell; carriage toppled on him

drivers.  One example is PIX 11 TV in NYC.  Recently  I was invited to be interviewed at their studio supposedly with someone representing the carriage trade.  I was then told they could not get anyone and had to cancel the show.  The next day I saw that they had not canceled the show, but instead had given an exclusive interview to a driver in Clinton park Stable.  She lied her way through the very long piece, unchallenged by the reporter who did not counter  anything she said and obviously did not know the issue.   I contacted them for equal time but was ignored.  

Yellow journalism is alive and well in NYC.  The truth has not gotten out.  It is curious why the media has taken this tact – whether they are in fact still trying to derail Mayor deBlasio as they did before the election; or if they are so afraid of the “animal rights agenda” that they simply cannot allow us to have this victory even at the expense of the long suffering horses.  There may be a lot of truth to this because Governor Cuomo recently signed a bill into law that allows municipalities to make their own laws regarding puppy mills and pet stores.  This is seen as a huge victory for those who care about animals. 

The media has presented the carriage driver as a poor downtrodden, blue collar working class immigrant whose business is being taken away by people who know nothing at all about horses and simply want their stable property. [3] It is the classic David and Goliath story and some people will believe it simply because it is in the media. 

The media also continues to talk about the so-called alternative vintage electric cars.  They do not know or care that the cars have been promised for five years, do not exist and that it is a risky and cost prohibitive investment.  No one in the media does fact checking or even challenges any of this information. 

Nose to tailpipe existence 

Industries become irrelevant and obsolete and it is time to shut this one down.  The best job alternative for the drivers is to have their existing carriages retrofitted with motors.  The cost would be about $15,000 – a fraction of what the electric cars would cost.  This has been done in other cities and can be seen on the web site – www.andrescarriagetours.com.  One of the NYC carriage owners already has one.  The medallion system could stay intact and everyone could keep their job.  The City could pay for the retrofitting in exchange for the horses who can be placed through the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which has done research proving that there are homes available for all the horses.

A word about the carriage horse slaughter scare, which originated with the drivers, promoted by the NY Daily News and exacerbated by Mayor Bloomberg – a scare tactic done to persuade people not to support a ban.  If any of the horses go to the slaughter auctions, make no mistake – it will be the drivers who bring them there.  They do not walk there on their own.  In the spring of 2013, I released a study, which revealed a turnover of 529 horses over 7 ½ years in the NYC carriage trade, averaging 71 horses a year.  Surely some of those horses went onto the auctions and then to Canada for to be slaughtered.  This will be the first time that horses will be guaranteed homes.  This will be the first time that accountability and responsibility for horse lives is required.  

The City Council should forget about Intro 86a, the electric car bill,  because it will not result in a ban and it’s muddying the waters.  The money does not exist to create this new industry  - approximately $12,000,000  - and a three year phase out would be fool hearty and guarantee that there will be no ban.  We do not support this and I am sure this is not what anyone heard when Mayor deBlasio called for a ban.  Intro 92, the unconditional ban bill is the one to reintroduce.

We ask Mayor deBlasio to do what it takes to shut this trade down soon.  We offer our expertise to work with him to make this happen.

  

---

[1] In 1989 when Local Law 89 was passed, which would have allowed the drivers to only work in Central Park, then Speaker Peter Vallone added a sunset clause to the bill before it went to the Mayor to be signed into law.  The sunset clause caused the bill to expire in 1993.  

In the early 2000s a representative from Vallone’s office (he was still speaker) called the ASPCA and demanded that they not run several full-page ads in the NY Times that were anti-carriage horse trade.  Larry Hawk, who was president at the time, refused to be bullied and the ads ran.  The ASPCA was never able to find anyone to sponsor their strong regulatory bill. 

Mr. Vallone has a  relative named Giovanni Rosario Vallone who owns and operates  a NYC carriage horse medallion and lives in Sicily. 

Linda Gibbs, Deputy Mayor of  Health and Human Services under Michael Bloomberg,  is married to Thomas McMahon, who has been a long time lobbyist for the carriage trade.  Ms. Gibbs also oversaw the Department of Health, which in turn oversaw many of the carriage horse regulations.

Christine Quinn was strongly supported in her quest to become Speaker of the City Council by the late Thomas Manton who had been a City Council Member, Congressman,  and at that time  head of the Queens Democratic party.  Manton was a staunch supporter of the carriage trade and had been referred to as Quinn’s “god father.”   

[2] In 2010, a French tourist was killed in Salsburg, Austria when a spooked carriage horse ran up on the street and trampled her.    

[3] This accusation has finally been debunked.  Steve Nislick, president of NYClass and a real estate developer , has answered the charges made by the carriage trade and the media that he wants the stable property.  He not only said it is not true but that if the  property were  ever to come onto the market, he pledges that he will not bid on it.  He further goes on to say that neither will anyone from his company or organization.
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THE CARRIAGE HORSE BAN AND THE GREAT BETRAYAL - WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MEDIA?

THE CARRIAGE HORSE BAN AND THE GREAT BETRAYAL 

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE MEDIA?

NYC:  Media sacrifices carriage horses' welfare for human’s selfish enjoyment and made up sob stories about carriage drivers,  and  non-questioning acceptance of non-existent "electric cars."  

What is wrong with the media?  

A lot … especially with this recent outrageous display of yellow journalism editorializing about the carriage horse trade.    By media, I mean television, radio, newspapers and Internet.  Yet it is often the only way we can get a story out.  We continue to hope for fair play and the truth, which we rarely get.    

38th St. stable 

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM:  There is no such thing anymore as investigative journalism.  Reporters mostly set up a story and manipulate the interviews for the desired result. Fact checking?  A thing of the past.  The current story idea du jour  is  in response to Mayor deBlasio saying that he will ban horse-drawn carriages – and apparently not backing down.   He has listened to the public for years, admitted his own thinking on the issue had evolved and now says  “We are going to get rid of the horse carriages, period”  and  "We are going to quickly and aggressively move to make horse carriages no longer a part of the landscape in New York City," deBlasio said, according to NBC New York.  “They are not humane. … It’s over.”  

The  carriage trade was not going to take that lying down.  Not on your life.  And the media wanted to give them a platform – ignoring the reasons why many of us want to see this inhumane and abusive trade go into the dust bins of history; as if all the cries and rational arguments that we have made for years had no value.  What kind of collusion was there between the carriage drivers and the media?  Did money or favors change hands?  We may never know.

BIASED MANIPULATED REPORTING:  In the last few weeks, the media has put out very biased untruthful reports about the NYC carriage trade – lamenting the drivers losing their jobs; exaggerating the number of horses and  drivers and fabricating the amount of money the drivers bring into the city – when the truth is that it is a cash only business and no one knows how much it is – but you can bet their tax returns are for much less than they actually take in. 

Why bother with the truth when it is so easy to make things up particularly when no one is challenging you.   

Saying the horses would go to slaughter; talking about the excellent conditions in which the

white washed horse-drawn carriage license plate

horses are kept – allowing the drivers to tell lies without questioning their pronouncements  – mostly because the reporters are not armed with facts and they do not care.    They simply do not know enough about the issue.  This is a link to Lies and Desperation - the NYC Carriage Trade.  

Of course, reporters and so-called journalists were no where to be found when I released the study of NYC carriage horses falling off the Department of Health registry this past spring.  Where do all the NYC Carriage Horses Go?  revealed a turnover of 529 horses over 7 ½ years  - averaging 71 horses a year.   There is nothing in the law that protects these horses from going to auction and then on to slaughter.   People are worried about what will happen to the horses when there is a ban -- but if the media had done its job in the spring, they would have seen that it has been a big worry all along.  

The City bends over backwards to allow the carriage drivers to work here – giving them an opportunity to ply their trade with many tourists; very low insurance rates compared to pedicabs; entitlements such as subsidized stables; virtually non existent law enforcement.   The drivers like to point to the extensive laws on the books and how they are monitored by several City agencies.   Don’t believe it.   It is on paper only.  And now with the ASPCA giving up humane law enforcement as of January 1^st, it is a lawless free for all.    Please do not buy this “well regulated” rhetoric  hype.

  

52nd St. stable

STABLES:  The carriage trade likes to say that anyone can visit their spectacular stables.  But the NY Times recently reported that a driver was charged with animal cruelty on December 20^th – his horse was found to have thrush and he had been working him lame for several days.    To have a NY Times reporter breaking the story was a shock to all of us since the Times is another newspaper that supports the carriage trade.  But unfortunately, this seems to be an anomaly.   

The horse, Blondie, is reported to have made his home at  Clinton Stables on W. 52^nd St.  One common cause of thrush is filthy stall conditions  - urine soaked straw bedding.  Why has the media mostly  ignored this story?  If not caught in time, this horse could have been permanently  crippled.   Is anyone now doing inspections of these stables?  The horse owner and manager of the stable are equally responsible for the condition of this horse and the conditions of their stable if a filthy stall contributed to and caused the Thrush condition.  But who is paying attention?  This may well be the tip of the ice burg.  

I have said this so many times.  These stables are dreadful.  The stalls, although meeting code, are less than half the size of what experts recommend.  They are on upper floors, accessed  by a steep ramp and if there were ever a fire, with one means of egress, the horses would probably die.  In addition, there is no turnout to pasture.  Horses need daily turnout, which they do not get.  The media liked to promote the 5- week furloughs the horses are now required to get by law  – as a “vacation”  – giving you the image of horses frolicking and grazing in a lush pasture, well fed and happy.  But vacations are a human concept – horses need daily turnout to pasture.  For 47 weeks out of the year, horses work every day for 9 hours and come back to spend it in a 60 square foot stall.   That is clearly inhumane.  

The law does not require inspections of these facilities.  In 2011, a former ASPCA equine vet

38th St. stable

was quoted in the NY Post – " Dr. Corey, the director of equine veterinary services of the ASPCA's humane law-enforcement department, said, "We have observed some horses returning to New York City after furloughs on a farm in worse condition than when they left."  

This was never investigated.  Subsequently, we have heard that depending on the farm, many of the horses are not fed well and look quite thin when they return. 

NY DAILY NEWS:  what can you say about a tabloid that recently printed an op-ed by a priest, rabbi and Muslim student in favor of the carriage trade?  How obviously manipulative. 

This is the same newspaper that flooded the media with false reports of the carriage horses going to slaughter if there was a ban.    Although Vickery Eckoff disputed this with real facts in her Forbes' article , NYC's Mayor Bloomberg Does not Know Manure about Carriage Horses, the Daily News deceitful  message got out and grew legs of its own.  This tabloid also tried desperately to derail deBlasio's mayoral campaign since they supported Christine Quinn.

September 26, 2013 - carriage horse falls with carriage on top of him

The carriage drivers expected to manipulate the public with these fear tactics not realizing that it would come back to them.  If the horses do go to auction / slaughter – it will be the individual owners who bring them – owners who did not care enough for their horses to find a real home.

IRISH CENTRAL pulled the same nonsense with this quote:  "Many are incredulous at the thought of their means  of supporting themselves and their families could be done away with so cavalierly."  

And, of course, they interviewed only tourists who like the carriages.  But many tourists oppose them and would never take a ride.  We have often spoken with tourists who hate the idea of walking on Central Park South because they do not want to see the horses.  

JOBS:  the Carriage drivers want to continue with their horses and are not willing to compromise - at least not yet.  Will they get involved in an expensive law suit that they are guaranteed to lose?  Is that position realistic?  Many people have lost their jobs in NYC ranging from corporations to government workers to those who were displaced because of neighborhood redevelopment and gentrification.  Where was the upset for them?  

NON-EXISTENT ANTIQUE REPLICA ELECTRIC CARS -   The media has been giving lots of attention to the "electric cars"  as something to replace the carriages.  The only problem here

carriage driver parks horse over steaming man-hole cover

is that they do not exist.  But those doing the interviewing are not troubled by this fact and have not challenged it.  This  further begs the question "what is going on in journalism schools around the country?"  The cars have been promised for five years.  Because I believe this is one of the biggest scams to be perpetrated on the animal rights community in years, I will list the problems:

 - they do not exist and have been promised for five years; only a model exists

 - would be very costly - about $175,000 per car

 - the proposed bill requires them to be phased in over a three year period at a cost of about $4,000,000 per year or $12,000,000 over all.  This means it would take at least three years to shut down the carriage trade.

 -  There would be 68 of these cars on the street in midtown!

 - cars are not allowed on Central Park roads.  It is hard to imagine the appeal of paying a hefty fee to ride in these electric cars and get stuck in the traffic of  Central Park South, 5th and 6th Avenue.  It would be cheaper to ride in a yellow taxi.  

 - it is a very risky investment, which is why, I believe, the money has not been raised to build these cars.  People with money to invest in projects have that money because they are smart investors.

 - If someone really wanted to start such a business, they might put a few on the street and see if the public had any interest - but 23 the first year against 45 carriages; and 23 additional the second year against 22 carriages, ending it the third year with the balance of 22 cars  - is an absurdity and a guarantee of investment money lost

 - With this proposed phase out - what happens if after the first year, the 23 cars are not popular.  No one wants to invest another $4,000,000 for an additional 23 cars. This means the horse carriages will continue.  There will be no ban.  

 - So for those three years, the cars would be in competition with the carriages, which might win because people would feel sorry for the drivers and believe the unsympathetic greedy real estate industry was behind the electric car vanity business.  

THE ONLY GOOD JOB ALTERNATIVE is to retrofit the existing horse carriages so they are horseless.  These already exist outside of NYC.  If the owners agreed to do this, their independent medallion business model could remain intact - converting the 68 carriages to true horseless carriages.  The cost is about $15-$20,000 per carriage.  Someone local could do the work - but this is how it would look.  

Nose to tailpipe - how is this "romantic?" 

The owners would have to agree to this, of course, but it is a much, much better situation for them than the non-existent electric cars -- and the animosity between the "real estate" developer and the owners would not exist.  A reasonable solution would be for the City to pay for the retrofitting in exchange for the horses, which the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, mentioned in Eckoff's article,  would place.

This is a very real and viable solution to jobs but unfortunately the Mayor's office has not responded to this suggestion.

We are very concerned with what Mayor deBlasio is saying because we hear it as a contradiction.    He talks about shutting down the trade almost  immediately "quickly and aggressively move to make horse carriages no longer a part of the landscape"  - but then he mentions these so-called alternative electric cars, which do not exist.  

Those of us who supported and voted for Mayor deBlasio -  and that includes running ads in Metro and volunteering for his campaign - did so because he said he would ban the carriage trade.   We do not care about electric cars and believe if a ban of the inhumane and unsafe horse-carriage business is dependent on the success of an electric car business, a ban will not happen.

We want this business to be shut down in six months.  We think that is both doable and fair.  

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CARRIAGE HORSE STABLES, NEGLECT AND ANIMAL CRUELTY

Note:  posted 7:30 pm 12/22/13 - Tony Salerno, manager of West Side Livery Stable,  told me that up until several months ago, the driver who was charged with animal cruelty worked for his stable but now works for Clinton Park Stable on W. 52nd St.  This is where Blondie is kept.  This is where Blondie most likely picked up thrush.  Shame on all the many drivers, owners and stable men for ignoring this horse.  
 

STABLES, NEGLECT AND ANIMAL CRUELTY

West Side Livery Stable  - small stall; nasty bedding 

The desperation and lies from the NYC carriage trade and their extremist supporters is growing out of control  – they are making up lies as they go along.   

One of the most intriguing subjects concerns the horse stables and their claim that since we have not seen them, we do not know what we are talking about and are not competent to make complaints about them.  They suggest that if Mayor-Elect deBlasio sees the stables,  he will change his mind about his intention to shut down the trade.   They are wrong and definitely delusional.

Stables totally inadequate:  It is not necessary to see the interior of the stables in the flesh to  know that they are totally inadequate:  There are four carriage horse stables in Manhattan  – all between 10^th and 12^th Avenues on the far west side  – on W. 37^th, W. 38^th, W. 48^th and W. 52^nd Streets.   They are all multi-storied stables housing stalls on upper floors. The horses access the stalls by a steep ramp.  There is only one means of egress --  in the event of a fire, it would be virtually impossible for the horses to escape.  

West Side Livery - typical

The stalls, by law, must only be 60 square feet or 6’ x 10.’  They call these box stalls because of the configuration – not size.  This is less than half what experts recommend, which is 12’x 12’  or 144 sq. ft.  for standard bred horses about 10000 to 1500 pounds – and  14” x 14”  or 196 sq. ft. for the large draft breeds who can weigh over 2,000 pounds. 

  

No pasture on which to graze:  In addition – the horses have no access to pasture turnout to graze – something horses need on a daily basis.  None whatsoever.  They work a 9 hour day,  and come back to their small sterile stall where they wait to be taken out the next day  - they do this for 7 days,  47 weeks a year.  The owners are required to send the horses for five- week furloughs every year to a “horse stable facility.”  But there is no requirement in the law that these “facilities” be approved by the ASPCA or the Department of Health or that they meet any standards.  As a result, we have heard complaints that some of the horses return from their furlough looking worse than when they left.  We have also heard they are kept in stalls and not fed properly.  But no one seems to care enough to investigate this.  

The former ASPCA equine veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Corey, is cited in the NY Post on November 2, 2011 as saying "We have observed some horses returning to New York City after furloughs on a farm in worse condition than when they left."  This was never investigated.

The former ASPCA equine veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Corey is cited in the NY Post on November 2,

West Side Livery 

2011   as saying “We have observed some horses returning to New York City after furloughs on a farm in worse condition than when they left.”  This was never investigated. 

Carriage driver charged with animal cruelty:  And  now comes a new twist – a carriage driver being called out by a NYPD officer and charged with animal cruelty for allegedly working his horse with a 4-day old injury.  The driver, Saverio Colarusso,  was seen in Central Park on Wednesday, December 18^th  by Officer Brian Coll who stopped him when he saw his horse struggling with the weight of the carriage.  The NYTimes broke the story on Friday, December 20th.  

The spokesperson for the trade is (of course) denying that this is common practice and trying to distance themselves from the diver.  But this puts a crimp in their mantra of  “The NYC carriage horses are well-cared for – as a matter of fact, there has never been a carriage horse driver cited for mistreatment, cruelty, or abuse of a carriage horse. “

We have disagreed vehemently with this statement  because we know that the regulations governing the trade are not enforced.  This driver is finally the one who slipped through the cracks thanks to a compassion and astute NYPD officer.  We also know it not to be true because of the many violations published by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

 Drivers are inclined to break the laws when no one is looking – whether overloading their carriage with too many passengers; making illegal u-turns; or ignoring a lame horse.  Hiring a platoon of officers to follow the drivers for infractions is as absurd as it would be costly.   Police officers are not familiar with the specific laws and generally look the other way – this time it was different and Officer Brian Coll is a true hero. 

The ASPCA is giving up humane law enforcement on December 31^st.  But they were rarely in Central Park so would not have seen something like this. 

Clinton Park  - dismal  - certainly not "light & airy" 

Need more impartial investigations:  We also wonder why the media is not investigating this animal cruelty incident further.  There are too many unanswered questions  - such as:  why wasn’t the owner of the horse charged with cruelty also?    It is ultimately his/her responsibility for the welfare of the horse.

Why didn’t the stable hands and other drivers notice something was wrong?   The horse is alleged to have had a 4-day old injury on his left rear leg causing him to limp. 

Why didn’t the customers notice or say anything? 

Clean and airy stalls - I don't think so:  The cruelty charge and the diagnosis of thrush also calls into question their “clean, light and airy stalls”  and the “regular vet and farrier visits.”   It is highly probably that Blondie was standing for some time in filthy urine-soaked bedding, which was ignored. 

Thrush is easily prevented by cleaning a horse’s hooves daily – before and after his shift – and keeping the stall clean and dry.    If left untreated, as this horse apparently was, it can cause lameness.  It is a glaring example of neglect.

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LIES AND DESPERATION - the NYC horse-carriage trade

LIES AND DESPERATION    

New York City – November 2013.  It’s been bad news for those who operate horse-drawn carriages in New York City and it is about time.  For years it was bad news for those who cared about animal welfare – with one cold hearted and insensitive Mayor after the other in office.  But this election season it was different with the top two candidates running for the office of Mayor both taking an official stand in support of shutting down the inhumane and unsafe horse-drawn carriage trade. 

the eyes tell it all on this horse 

The carriage drivers and their friends are desperate and digging in their heels.  Even though the handwriting is on the wall and has been for some time and two separate alternate businesses have been offered to them and turned down, they are making up lies about their carriage business to try to influence public opinion.  They put out statements designed to deceive and to make things appear much better than they really are … as long as no one asks questions.  The media in far corners of the US  - and some in New York City - have picked up the Associated Press story and shamefully did no fact checking on their own.   

This is a business that has been unpopular in NYC for many, many years – a business that has been favored by the last two administrations that turned their backs on the violations and abuse.  With Mayor-Elect Bill deBlasio taking office in January 2014 – it will be different.  Mr. DeBlasio has promised to ban the horse-drawn carriage trade in New York City.

To sort through the duplicity put out by the carriage trade, the following is a list of their

LIES followed by the TRUTH. 

LIE:  There have been only three carriage horses who died as a result of a collision with traffic in the past 30 years.

TRUTH:  In the last 7 years, there have been at least 4 public deaths of carriage horses in NYC and many more within the confines of the stables.  Spotty – 2006; Juliet – 2006, Smoothie – 2007, Charlie 2011.  But there have been many more horses who were injured because of accidents.  The public does not differentiate between a horse like Spotty who was involved in a horrific traffic accident in 2006 and Charlie who dropped dead on the street several years later.  There is something about the image of a dead horse – helpless and no longer powerful - that resonates with our collective unconscious guilt – where we feel a sense of responsibility for allowing this abuse to continue without speaking up. 

LIE:  The industry is 155 years old.    

TRUTH:  This statement is designed to have people think this is a long and venerable business.  155 years would take us back to 1858 when Central Park was being built.  Everyone used horses then.  The industry as we know it today started in the late 1940s when Mayor William O’Dwyer issued 68 medallions to individuals to operate a horse-drawn carriages.   

LIE: All the horse stalls are box stalls     

TRUTH: A box stall is simply a configuration and says nothing about size.  According to law, the

Oreo - spooked and bolted into traffic - summer 2012

stalls must be at least 60 square feet.  But this is less than half what experts recommend, which is 144 square feet (12’ x 12’) for a standardbred horse who weighs about 1000 to 1200 pounds; for larger draft breeds who can weigh more than 2,000 pounds, experts recommend at least a 197 square foot stall (14’ x14’).  The space does not exist in the NYC stables to do this properly so the horses are stuck with substandard sized stalls. 

 LIE: The horses get a vacation for at least 5 weeks out of the year.   

TRUTH:    A “vacation” is a human concept.  Horses need daily turnout to pasture, which does not exist in NYC.  So for 47 weeks out of the year, the horses are confined to their small stalls when they are not working on the streets of NYC.  The Department of Health (DoH)  does not require a list of the “farms” where the horses are sent and the ASPCA is not required to inspect them.  According to this article in theNY Post, former ASPCA equine veterinarian Pam Corey said that many of the horses look worse when they return from this vacation.  It was never investigated.  

 Dr. Corey, the director of equine veterinary services of the ASPCA’s humane law-enforcement department, said, “We have observed some horses returning to New York City after furloughs on a farm in worse condition than when they left.”

We have also heard this from others - that the horses are not fed properly when on "vacation" and are returned to NYC thin and unfit, but expected to return to work nine hours a day.  This is truly a travesty and the NYC media must accept much of the blame for perpetuating this nonsense and not fact checking.    

LIE:  The industry is tightly regulated by many City agencies and the ASPCA

TRUTH:  While there are many laws on the books, enforcement is rare.  Because there is generally no one in an official capacity at the hack line, the drivers break the laws with impunity.   And because the Commissioners of the Department of Health and the Department of Consumer Affairs serve at the pleasure of the Mayor, no one wants to rock the boat about bringing violations to the surface.   The ASPCA enforces all animal cruelty laws on a volunteer basis and has fewer than 20 agents.  They are rarely at the hack line or around the streets where the drivers work to observe any violations.  Starting on January 1^st, the ASPCA will no longer be involved with this enforcement.  This

Chris - collapsed with carriage falling on him 9/26/13

is a link that shows violations.     

 

LIE:   The industry contributes $15,000.000 annually to the economy.

TRUTH: This is a fabricated and extrapolated piece of information.  No one knows how much the trade contributes in the way of taxes every year because it is a cash only business.  The number was originally put out there by the organization that is promoting electric cars to show how their industry would compare against the carriages.  But it is a puffed up estimate and cannot be confirmed or validated.  It is suspected that the industry reports far less income than it takes in and thus pays less in taxes. 

LIE: Blue Star Equiculture (BSE) is the “official and guaranteed” retirement home for NYC carriage horses.

TRUTH: Currently BSE lists only one former NYC carriage horse on their site.  Further the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages published a 7 ½ year study that revealed a turnover of 529 horses in the NYC carriage trade over this time period.  This is a link to the study, which includes raw data from the DoH. 

LIE:   Tourists love this iconic ride

TRUTH: It is not only New Yorkers who want this inhumane and unsafe business to be gone.  Many tourists agree.  More than 70,000 people signed our first petition from a few years ago supporting a ban.  It included eople from all 50 states and more than 55 countries.   Tourists continue to tell us that they avoid the Central Park South area because they do not want to see the horses – it is so troubling to them.  

Every online poll done since 2006 has resulted in between 75 and 80 percent of respondents voting in favor of a ban on horse-drawn carriages in NYC. 

Our current online petition has more than 130,000 signatures on a petition in support of the Avella/Rosenthal bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC.      

LIE:  There are 300 carriage drivers in this industry that will be affected by job loss. 

TRUTH:  While there are close to 300 licenses, many of those holding them are part timers or live  in other states and countries.  According to Steve Malone of the NYC Carriage Association, there are between 150 and 160 active drivers.

In addition, the drivers have turned down alternate businesses such as retrofitting their carriages (and retiring the horses) or vintage replica electric cars.  This is a tiny industry and the City of NY should stop being held hostage by a small handful of people.  Enough is enough.  Many people have lost their jobs in the last several years – ranging from municipal workers to corporate workers to those who worked in businesses affected by redevelopment and gentrification.  No one in the City Council or NYC government created a special industry for them.  Things change, businesses become obsolete.  People need to find new means of making a living -- to retrain for new opportunities.

Oreo's carriage - summer 2012

There are no arguments that are justified here to defend this abusive and dangerous trade.  It needs to stop.  The best alternative business that can happen in a relatively short period of time is retrofitting carriages such as these produced by Andres Carriages.

The electric cars do not exist, are prohibitively expensive,  and are not a realistic alternative.   Let's all (both sides) get beyond this Emperor's New Clothes saga and move on and deal with reality.  deBlasio needs to shut the industry down as promised.  The owners can either accept retrofitting their carriages or get nothing.

LIE:  Safety is a non-issue

TRUTH: Safety is a huge issue.   These horses weigh between 1500 and 2000 pounds.  As prey animals they are nervous and predictably unpredictable; can spook at the slightest provocation and cause havoc – becoming unwitting weapons – can injure or kill themselves or passerby.  Dragging a slow moving flimsy carriage through the congested traffic of NYC is a recipe for disaster.

There have been about 18 accidents in the last few years that we know about. It might well be more because the drivers are not required to report them to the NYPD; and even if the NYPD is called on the scene, they, too, are not required to write a report.  We believe that many more happen and unless something is done, it is just a matter of time before a human dies.  It has happened in other cities. 

Horse-drawn carriages should not be allowed on the streets of NYC – or in Central Park  They are a danger to themselves and innocent bystanders. 

LIE :  Since 1981 not one horse-drawn cab owner or driver has been convicted of a cruelty charge.

TRUTH:  This statement is absurd and begs the following response:

What happened before 1981 – was someone arrested for animal cruelty?  After all, the industry claims they have been in existence for 155 years. 

This is like asking people to vote for a candidate because he does not beat his wife.  Very low standards. 

As already mentioned, there is little enforcement of this trade – however there have been many violations recorded by the DCA and 311. 

Most recently, it was learned that the driver of Chris, the carriage horse who collapsed while going to work on September 26, 2013 was charged with double shifting and overcharging his customers.  Double shifting is when a driver keeps a horse working for more than the legally allowed 9 hours.  See this report.       

LIE:  The buildings in which the horses live are outfitted with high-pressure fire sprinklers, pro-actively installed and paid for by the carriage owners, in the absence of any law stating they must have them.

TRUTH:  Two previous city council bills requiring sprinklers in the stables were killed.  Because there is no law requiring sprinklers in the horse stables, it is not known if they are adequate, installed correctly,  or even if they exist. 

horse parked over steaming manhole cover 2013

Further, the stables are a firetrap.  If there were a fire on the upper floors, there would be no way for the horses to get out.  They would panic.  There is also only one means of egress in the stables. 

LIE:  Those who oppose the horse-drawn carriage trade know nothing about horses while the drivers have a lot of experience and are the experts. 

TRUTH:   One does not have to “own” horses to know that this practice is wrong.  Many people who have a lot of experience with horses are opposed to this abusive trade.  They include horse rescuers, veterinarians, horse owners and just people who have compassion for animals.  Besides so called “experience” means nothing.  Michael Vick had a lot of experience with dogs and he ended up serving time in prison for his bad actions.

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WILL HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES REALLY BE BANNED IN NYC?

WE SUPPORT A CARRIAGE HORSE BAN NOW!   

horse spooked and carriage fell on him - NYC 9/26/13 

Ban or Not? The NYC carriage drivers believe and hope that there will not be a ban of their inhumane and unsafe horse-drawn carriage business that has clogged up the streets of midtown NYC for years; caused numerous accidents involving human and horse injuries; horse deaths and property damage – besides rattling the nerves of bystanders who quickly moved aside when spooked horses ran up on the sidewalks.    They have dodged the bullet many times, avoiding human deaths.  But human deaths involving horse-drawn carriages have happened elsewhere and it is only a matter of time before it happens here if this dangerous business is allowed to continue.   

It has always been incumbent upon the Administration to address human safety issues.  But past administrations did not want to rock the boat and looked the other way.

Lies, Corruption  and Entitlements:  The drivers continue to put out misinformation about the number of horse deaths, accidents, how long they have been in business;  how simply wonderful their business is and how the horses are delighted to be slaves.   And the media eats it up.  After all, why shouldn't they believe they would win?  They have a history of enjoying an entitled business with perks that included very low rent on city owned stables; renovation of that same stable paid for with tax dollars; a Council Speaker who is cousin to a horse-carriage owner – and who used his influence accordingly; a Deputy Mayor married to a horse-carriage trade lobbyist – and that is just the main points of what we know. 

So let’s stop the corruption and start with a fresh slate.  The majority of people want to see this business shut down.  Every online poll taken since 2006 has resulted in between 75 and 80% of respondents favoring a ban.  In Bill deBlasio, we elected a true progressive who won by 73% - a landslide.  This is  someone who included a humane city for NYC animals in his platform.  That has never happened before.   

Vintage Electric Cars are a Myth:  Mayor-Elect deBlasio has promised that he would shut down the carriage trade almost immediately and we hope he keeps his word.   It will be logistically challenging.  I have communicated this to him in person and in writing why a ban of this business must not be dependent on the success of another privately owned risky vanity business – the phantom so called "vintage electric cars."   One really has nothing to do with the other.  He appeared  to understand  yet continues to talk about the non-existent vintage electric cars --  on his  web site and during a televised debate.  This is very troublesome.  These cars have been promised for five years and have never materialized. 

If deBlasio makes one dependent on the other, there will be no ban. 

Besides being far too expensive – approximately $175,000 per car -  the carriage drivers have said they are not interested.  So even if it were to happen, it is not a “job substitute” for the carriage drivers.  It is simply another business.  

And even if somehow the cars existed, a phase-out would be the worst thing to do.  The ill conceived plan was to retire 1/3 of the horse-drawn carriages or medallions  - 23 the first year and roll out 23 cars -- continuing over three years.  This means that  the industry would still have a foothold to cause trouble such as filing lawsuits.    What happens if tourists (possibly set ups ) still choose the horse- carriages? 

The smartest thing to do is to shut them down at one time – phasing them out over six months to give time to place the horses.  

But three years is a guarantee a ban will not happen and this is not what any of us signed up for. 

Jobs?  If Mayor-Elect deBlasio is concerned about the jobs issue, the best solution is the retrofitted battery operated horse carriages such as those already produced by Andres Carriage Tours.  The cost of this process is $15,000 to $20,000 per carriage.  Every carriage and medallion would remain – including the same horse-drawn carriage business model.  This should appeal to the owners who would continue to be autonomous.  But they have not accepted this idea either.  Since the horses are privately owned and the City cannot compel the owners to hand them off to anyone, perhaps money could be made available to retrofit the carriages in exchange for the horses. 

The electric cars will not be allowed in Central Park because they are motorized vehicles.  Runners, bikers and others who use the park roads do not want cars going through the park and should rightfully put up a fuss if they were allowed.    So why would someone pay $50 to $100 to ride in one and sit in a traffic jam on Central Park South  just like any other frustrated person in a private car or taxi?   

Am I missing something here?  In so many ways, this is a ludicrous not well thought out idea. 

It  is also true that the retrofitted carriages may not be allowed  to go into Central Park either because they will be motorized.  But I believe an exception is much more likely for them than the cars because of the way they look.

NYC:  Stop being held hostage!  All that said –  is the City once again getting caught up with allowing the carriage trade to hold them hostage?    The driver/owners have known for years that their days were numbered – the  Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project covers the stables on W. 37^th and W. 38^th St., which means they would be demolished at some point.  Their business has fallen off over the years due to the popularity of the pedicabs; increased rates -- $50 for only 20 minutes; and the ground swell of popular opinion against them. 

All of us know people who have lost jobs – whether they worked for retail establishments that were shut down because of redevelopment and gentrification of neighborhoods; government workers; or private industry.  Has the City stepped up and created jobs for all of those people?  

Not that I recall. 

No it is not pleasant to have to change your line of work and recreate yourself – but many people have been forced to do just that with no help from the City of NY.  So why are these people different?  Why are they so special.  Answer is they are not. 

The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages  - www.banhdc.org -  started this campaign in January 2006.  Unlike the others, we are not in this to make money off the backs of horses  or off  a vanity industry.  We just want to remove the horses from harm's way - the streets of NYC - and see that they get good homes.  

We hope Mayor-Elect deBlasio does the right thing about the horses and shuts the business down soon as he promised.  Only time will tell. 

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