Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to ban the 68 horse and carriages from Central Park where they have been carrying paying passengers since 1858. He is doing this at the behest of New York Class (NY CLASS), founded by developer Steve Nislick, former CEO of Edison Properties. Edison once obtained former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s support to tear down the High Line. He almost succeeded in destroying the most popular park in NYC. Nislick left Edison to head NYCLASS in August, 2012, as the attacks began on favored mayoral candidate Christine Quinn. According to Crain’s New York Business, “NYCLASS gave an above-the-legal-limit six-figure donation to defeat Ms. Quinn. . . Mr. de Blasio who had also taken direct donations from NYCLASS founder Steve Nislick and close associates, promised to ban the horse carriage industry in Central Park on his first day as mayor.”
NYCLASS, which reported taking in $554,000 in total donations, also gave $225,000 to another anti-Quinn front group, NYC is Not for Sale, a coalition including “animal rights groups.” It was fined $7,050 by the NYC Campaign Finance Board for failing to report $70,000 in its $1.1 million campaign to defeat Quinn in the primaries. Obviously, this campaign to ban horses from Central Park adopted by de Blasio, had some heavy financing. The carriage horses are housed in four stables on the far West Side of Manhattan. Writing in Horseback Magazine, one writer saw this “as a seedy attempt to secure valuable Manhattan real estate under the guise of animal welfare.” In a January 6 blog, Robert Stacy McCain stated, “An anti-carriage pamphlet Nislick circulated in 2008 made this interesting observation,’Currently, the stables consist of 64,000 square feet of valuable real estate that could accommodate up to 150,000 square feet of development.’”
Now, let’s look at the Mayor’s enemies, those 68 horses and their driver/owners who devote their lives and livelihood to them. Tommy Hughes has been driving for 27 years. He grew up on his family farm in Ireland where he began riding his father’s horses as a teenager. “We have devoted our lives to horses. I would not do this if I was not a horse person. We bond, man and animal.”Three happy riders from Boston dismounted a carriage one sunny day in mid-March at the edge of the park. Asked what they thought of the Mayor’s proposed ban, they responded, “It’s a very bad idea. This is what makes New York City so attractive to us during our 5-day visit. We found this ride uniquely charming, really relaxing, which attracts tourists.”Joe Cirnigliaro started driving in 1974. “My dad was a driver before me. Yes, three horses have been killed by automobiles over 30 years. Last year alone, 173 pedestrians have been killed by automobiles. Should pedestrians be banned from the streets? Why is the victim blamed?”
Ian McIver, who has been driving for 28 years, added, “I have been with horses all my life. I don’t know any other life.” These working horses are well cared for in stables with room to lie down. They do not work when the temperature is below 20 or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. They enjoy annual 5-week vacations on the Pennsylvania Amish farms from where they originated. They are far better off than joining the 100,000 horses slaughtered every year in the US for horse meat. The carriages themselves are elegant glossy black or white Swarzts or Canadian style with soft velvety cushioned scarlet seats. They are true works of functional art which add much to the allure of the city.
Are improvements possible? Yes. Former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said that safe passage from the stables to the park should be provided. He suggested curbside lanes be restricted during the early morning and late evening hours to horses only, as they are now in many places for bicycles or buses. A concession fee may be necessary to cover the costs of repairing the damage done to the park drives from the steel clad horses’ hooves. Shade trees along the edge of the sidewalks are important to cool the horses and to make the park more park-like. Benepe, who is now vice-president of the Trust for Public Land, added, “These horses are a living connection to our past. They have operated in Central Park for over 150 years, and the principal argument for ending this tradition is “inhumane treatment” has not been proven anywhere. If it is “inhumane” for them to breath in auto exhaust during their brief commutes to and from the park, is it also inhumane to allow cyclists, bike messengers, pushcart vendors, traffic agents, police officers, and others who are out on the streets all day to breathe the same air?”
Borough President Gale Brewer agrees with the former commissioner that more cars should not be brought into Central Park as the Mayor proposes. In fact, Ms. Brewer wants all cars to be banned from the park drives. In the end, the Mayor should get off his high horse and show some flexibility to talk to those affected, riders and drivers, and those of us who use and love the park. He should display some compassion and caring for what makes the city beautiful. We have long established traditions which should be honored and protected.
This conversation is political & economic. Who stands to make the most money if horse carriages are banned? Who stands to be financially hurt? Which mayoral candidate was pushed out by contributors and who broke campaign finance rules?
Who cares?
The question- and the only question that should be at issue here – is whether or not this is a humane practice.
The Humane Society of the US and Peta seem to think it’s not, and somehow I don’t think their motivation in thinking that way has anything to do with west-side land-grabs.
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/carriage_horses/
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/horse-drawn-carriages/
If you want to prevent some rich agitator from making himself richer by politicizing a moral issue, that’s fine by me. I don’t know who Steve Nislick is, don’t care and don’t think any private person should make a dime by changing public policy simply to do the right thing. There has to be a better way to do so than by treating animals inhumanely.
As for the cyclists, bike messengers, pushcart vendors, traffic agents, police officers, and others who are out on the streets all day they have something these horses don’t – free will.
Exactly! It is inhumane.
Eliane – you are a skanky twat
Jonathan Bernstein is right. Common sense dictates the carriage horses DON’T belong in NYC for many reasons. At least 3 have died in the street. Why? The true reasons will never be known because drivers say it’s none of our business and they lie. The carriage operators only get caught when the horses die in the street. When they are sick and injured, horses suddenly disappear off the face of the earth never to be seen again. Why? Drivers don’t want to expose the truth. They want all of us to accept everything they want and do with no questions asked. We are only privy to the facade…pretty feathers on horses heads, fake gold and leather on the carriages. The drivers wear circus like apparel to lure ignorant selfish people for a joyride. Often times overloading the carriage at the expense of the poor horse. Extreme heat and cold nine hours a day. Then they go up several flights to a small stall with little to no windows in a concrete box. They are slaves to mans folly for $$$. The crap science fed to NYC public officials is laughable and a lot of them are too ignorant to know they are being taken for a ride by these unscrupulous characters. They are like a carney act. Even high ranking park officials buy into the ruse. One would like to think a park official would be on the side of the poor horses. Not ensuring their slavery to continue. This proves that it’s all a facade right down to the parks. It’s not fair to trap a horse in a fake world of heavy dangerous traffic, millions of noisy people, heavy car exhaust and a great chance of spooking the horses at the peril of both man and beast. A report came out this week with horrifying statistics on the dangers of NYC traffic to citizens. The stats are horrifying with 123 deaths in a few months and many thousands of injuries. Yet, horse carriage drivers feed false info to the public and they gobble it up. The horses are slaves. They don’t have free will. Therefore I and MANY others are their voice. All the voodoo science in the world does NOT justify forcing those majestic creatures into such a horrible existence until they either drop dead (lucky ones) or are secretly shipped out to oblivian. Many drivers have publicly stated the 63 horses will be retired. At the same time they also play the guilt game with NYC Council stating the horses will go to the “glue factory”. They will say and do anything to keep their slave trade going. I take issue with Council that they are so out of touch with today’s world that they are willing to be manipulated by a small group of hateful people. Here they are representing what is supposed to be a world leading city, yet they are seriously lacking on the horse carriage issue. Most people in NYC are not animal conscious. Their only true exposure to animals is domestic pets, zoos and what they see on TV. So, relying on their opinion of the horses is a self serving attitude. Movies promote, send the wrong messages about animals for mans folly. We must take a stand for the horses. It’s not about our whims to have these beautiful creatures haul our big bodies around. An electric car is brilliant for many reasons. We must break the chains for the horses sake and at the same time make a statement that reverberates around the world. Mumbai has already done so. Many others are following suit. We must begin to protect animals which equates to protecting our earth and ourselves. The NYC Carriage Horses have NO free will. Use common sense to stop this barbaric, archaic tradition once and for all. Give the drivers their many incentives and send them out. They have free will and will be fine. Many horses lives will be saved in the future.
How can this be inhumane? The horses are well cared for. They are fed, housed, and rested regularly. They have long periods of “vacation” time. How different is this from working horses anywwhere else? Or any other animal that is trained tobwork a specific job? From what the article says this seems more like a rich guy verses small guy thing.
And everything I read about the mayor makes me think he is caving to special interests groups instead of his citizens. The laws he has passed seem very invasive and over parental.
Just my opinion.
We have had show hunters for many years and they are beautifully taken care of. The see vets regularly, they are given time off, they have turnout in large paddocks every day, and are given nutritional supplements to the tune of hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollar a year. They live in large box stalls and are shod expensively and regularly. Those men who drive the carriages in the Park depend on the health and well being of their horses in order to make a living, so you can rest assured that they are given exemplary care. They are also not worked in temperatures above 90 or below 20. There are many horses who are outside 24/7 in all kinds of weather and prefer it to being in a stall. Horses like to have a job to do. We gave one pony several months off after a busy show season and he became surly and bad tempered and returned to his cheerful self only after he was back in the show program. If horses are not happy doing what they are doing, they let you know!
In this day & age it is morally reprehensible to continue the enslavement of horses for dangerous JOYRIDES in a horribly congested city. All the excuses in the book should not be aloud for continuing the cruelty. The incentives offered the drivers are ample and would be WELCOMED by any other person seeking employment. The real issue should be why is NYC not taking a stand against this archaic trade in light of the fact the rest of the world is evolving in Animal Welfare. Mumbai banned carriage horses. Why? Because they consider it to be animal cruelty. Other big cities are processing this same issue. Why? Because people are taking a stand for animals. Zero tolerance of all forms of cruelty is needed to protect all animals. It’s all totally linked. We’re all part of the ecological system. We humans have done irreparable damage to the earth. We have killed off 52% of animals in the past 30 yrs. This is not a cliche statement. When does it stop? Where does it stop? It stops in each and every city & town around the world. Why should NYC lead or get in line? Supposedly, they have worldly views. Trying to be in the forefront of all things new & innovative. Why are they not taking a stand against this cruel practice? Why are they letting a few drivers guilt them into continuing a trade which should have ended long ago. Put politics aside for the sake of the horses. Get the horse carriages out of NYC once and for all. Break the chains.