Coalition To Ban
Horse-Drawn Carriages

 
 

 
 
HORSE SENSE:  9/9/18


Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages   www.banhdc.org
Horses Without Carriages International     www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

Our campaign is dedicated to banning the inhumane, unsafe, anachronistic and hack line
horse-drawn carriage trade in NYC and elsewhere. 
We need a total ban, not a "compromise" that will doom the horses to a life of misery. 
Please donate to our campaign.
 We do not need much money since we do this proudly for free - it is a labor of love and compassion  - but we could use help with flyers, posters, this newsletter and our website. We also donate to equine rescues and to groups in other cities that want to make a difference.  We strongly feel that we are all in this together.  You will always get the truth here because we have no conflicts of interest and do not have to genuflect to anyone  - either because of business or political dealings.  With our years of experience with this issue going back to the 1990s, we are not hesitant to speak out. Thanks to all of you who have donated.  It is very much appreciated.

TRUTH not POLITICS!  

NEW MAYORAL PROPOSAL IS NO WALK IN THE PARK

The deBlasio administration recently announced a "big win" for the NYC carriage horses in proposing the relocation of the hack line on Central Park South to five locations within Central Park. Some people are unfortunately buying this alternative reality and I can only conclude that they do not have or care to have the facts.


Have our standards fallen so low that we laud the proposal to move the hack lines into Central Park as a great achievement? – are we so desperate for crumbs that we cheer? This is a disingenuous proposal by the Mayor to once again try to pull the wool over your eyes. Please rely on real statistics and facts - not hyperbole.


PLEASE NOTE THIS:

- The horses will still be on the street.

- Their stables are on the far west side of Manhattan - going to and from the park is where many of the accidents have occurred - NOT on the hack line. The carriages will still be mixing with heavy traffic here and around the park.

- The Dept of Transportation needs to tell us how the carriages will access the two water troughs. The only way I see is for them to travel on the existing hack line on Central Park South. So far, they have ignored our requests.


ACCIDENTS: Carriage drivers are not required to report accidents. So unless the public knows about it and gets the NYPD and/or media involved - it never happened. It is to a carriage driver's benefit not to report an accident that will hurt the reputation of the trade.


ACCIDENT STATISTICS: We have recorded 103 accidents since 1982. 19 of those have been at or near the hackline that is proposed to be relocated. But 14 of them happened in Central Park. The balance of 70 happened around the city in different areas. The accidents were typical - horses spooking, collapsing, crashing into something or being crashed into; dead horses. You may see the list on our blog. Click Here.


Statistics do not bear out the claim that it is safer to move the carriages into the park.


Some additional facts to ponder:


  1. Mayor deBlasio does not know or understand the carriage industry. He never has, but has always consulted with those who knew just a little more than he did but had money to donate to his organization.

    2. Mayor deBlasio was on the Brian Lehrer show on radio this past Friday (you can google the podcast.) At one point, a man named Craig called in and said he had looked at all five of the proposed new locations and that they provided no shade for the horses. The Mayor seemed surprised. (oops) But then he caught himself and dismissively said that the carriages do not stay in any place long enough since they are continuously busy with passengers - so they will not be harmed by the sun. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY UNTRUE.


Having been involved with weekly peaceful protests for years at the hack line, we noted

that the carriages often had no business. They were lined up waiting. This is why we tried to bring to the attention of the administration that they were violating the law that required the horses to be tethered and attended - which they mostly were not.


It is pathetic that Mayor deBlasio does not know what he is talking about when it comes to the horses but that does not prevent him from making pronouncements and acting like he does.


3. WHAT IS TRUE IS THIS: We confirmed what Craig said by visiting all five locations over the weekend. THERE IS NO SHADE! Besides, the carriages will be on hard street surface. So when you hear the supporters talking about "tree-lined parks" - it is all hyperbole and frankly, an embarrassment.


4. Horses will not be allowed to graze on that grass; not allowed to back into a tree to scratch an itch - same business; same conditions - new location


Their hyperbolic rhetoric does not help the horses but it does help to deceive people and gives a phony "win" to those desperate for one.


5. it is not a car-free environment:

-- the carriages will go north on Central Park West to the new 72nd site - lots of traffic.

- the carriages will still be making illegal u-turns to access the new sites near 7th and 5th Avenues.

- there continues to be a lot of traffic in the park; hoards of people; bicycles; skateboards; pedicabs

- Vehicles - standard and emergency ones - belonging to the NYPD and Parks Dept. are all over the park. (car free? hardly)



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WHAT CAN YOU DO:


1. Don't drink the kool-aid. Please question and think for yourself.

2. Post a comment on the Department of Transportation Web Site. http://rules.cityofnewyork.us

3. Testify at the Department of Transportation hearing on October 3rd at 1pm. The Bid Room at 55 Water Street, Concourse Level. Call 212-839-6500.


This is what I posted recently:


DISINGENUOUS PROPOSAL: This is another case of Alternative Facts by the de Blasio administration via the Department of Transportation. The relocation of the hack line to five different places in Central Park is meant to deceive unquestioning people into believing that the carriages will be off the streets and mixing with cars – and they will get a respite in the “tree-lined park.” This is simply not true. I wonder if the horses look at the green grass in Central Park and wish they were free so they could graze or roll on the grass or back up to a tree to scratch their rump. Instead, they will continue between the shafts of their carriages pulling tourists – in extreme weather conditions, working 9 hours a day, 7 days a week. What we as a society do to these animals in the name of frivolous entertainment is despicable and casts a dark shadow on this city. We support a ban or nothing. But we still ask for honest answers to our questions regarding this new proposal.


LAWS NOT ENFORCED: Most of the street laws are not enforced including the ones about leaving horses unattended and untethered (very dangerous) and giving them 15 minute breaks every two hours. If the deBlasio administration had the good faith to try to enforce the existing regulations, it would be even more difficult to enforce in five different locations.


HORSES WILL STILL BE IN TRAFFIC: It is a given that the carriages will still go back and forth from the stables on the far west side of Manhattan to Central Park – mixing with heavy traffic. Most accidents have occurred outside the park and hack line. To access the two new locations off Central Park South near 7th and 5th Avenue, the carriages will continue to make illegal U-turns on Central Park South. To access the two locations near Tavern on the Green and W. 72nd St., they will need to go north on Central Park West,, mixing with lots of traffic. To go to the location on E. 72nd st remains a question because Fifth Avenue goes downtown. The drivers will still be able to go around the city, including the Lincoln Center and Times Square areas after certain times in the evening depending on the day. Mixed with heavy traffic.


QUESTIONS: But mostly, we have asked the Dept. of Transportation to provide the new routes/loops - the path taken by the carriages after they pick up passengers. Will they use the streets? We suspect so. We need answers. This is a link to a list of accidents compiled since 1982. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7693697089040184548#editor/target=post;postID=9074651033043287163;onPublishedMenu=template;onClosedMenu=template;postNum=3;src=postname


Elizabeth Forel Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Agency: DOT




THE IMAGES BELOW ARE OF NYC CARRIAGE HORSES. 


All of these images were taken in locations that are not part of the proposed hack line changes. 

 - Charlie dropped dead on 54th St.

 -  Horse eating his grains off the icy street -- this can happen anywhere

 - The 2011 photo shows a horse who spooked and collapsed INSIDE CENTRAL PARK.

 - the 4th photo shows a horrendous accident that ending up killing the horse.  It took place on 9th Avenue and 50th St.

  - the last two photos show typical conditions that will not change. 


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

A ban will never happen for the carriage horses if you sell your soul for a quick win.  Real activists do not give up.  Real activists also read and learn about horses and their needs.  Real activists also read and learn about legislation.  They do not rely on some questionable organizations to tell them what to do. 



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KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER



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Please read our many articles from the Dodo, One Green Planet and our blog. 

Please read our past newsletters about this issue  -
click on the names below
 
 
 
 

A ban will never happen for the carriage horses if you sell your soul for a quick win.  Real activists do not give up.  Real activists also read and learn about horses and their needs.  Real activists also read and learn about legislation.  They do not rely on some questionable organizations to tell them what to do. 



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!
PLEASE FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Henry Beston, a writer and naturalist, eloquently said this about animals in the Outermost House, published in 1928, 

"For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth."

 
 
 
 
 

The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
P.O. Box 20247  | Park West Station  | New York, NY 10025  |  Coalition@banhdc.org