Thank you, Elizabeth, for laying out in detail NYC’s long history of failure to adequately address the scourge of the carriage horse industry. It’s a call to action for all New Yorkers who oppose this cruel industry to let their voices be heard by their elected officials — and to elect lawmakers who will lead with compassion, not complacency. Thank you for not giving up!
Thanks, Steve - and the most important message is that orgs like VFAR do not understand why the horses and stables can't go in the park - but it does not stop them from pushing it and getting ignorant council members to support it. It is basically Park alienation (parkland for the people - a legal concept), and the fact that Central Park is a national and NYC landmark, both the park and the existing architecture.
This is an excellent report prepared by the foremost authority on the New York City horse-drawn carriage issue. Building stables in Central Park is a preposterous idea. The majority of New Yorkers want to see the horse-drawn carriages banned, and the younger generation in general has nothing but contempt for this cruel and outdated practice. The times are changing, the paradigm is shifting, and horse-drawn carriages will indeed become a thing of the past.
Thank you for this helpful piece that details the history of this horrific industry. It seems like most New Yorkers oppose the cruel horse carriage industry. It's politicians who keep the industry alive (and the tourists who willingly exploit horses).
Thanks, Dustin - and you are correct. Politicians will say what they think you want to hear - i.e. Bill de Blasio - and the promise to ban the carriage horses on Day 1, which he did not. Unions are very strong in NYC, and I've never been able to figure out what is going on behind the scenes with the TWU and the carriage drivers. No one in government is willing to investigate.
Thanks Fiona -- I appreciate that. We do go back a long time, don't we! To think that they are trying to sneak this proposal in. And really, shame on VFAR and everyone associated with them. Shameful. And it shows they don't understand the complexities of the Park alienation and landmark issue.
Building stables in Central Park is a ridiculous idea. It's been proposed for years, but as of now, the carriage horses continue to be stabled outside of Central Park, primarily in facilities like the Clinton Park Stables, which are dilapidated buildings that house the horses on upper floors.
Separately, the Central Park Conservancy did build a five-stall stable for the mounted parks enforcement patrol officers, which is located near the Central Park Zoo, in 2011. The cost for the five stall stable was $700,000, paid for by the City. Some people assume that these stables were for the carriage horses, but they were not. They were for police horses. These stables could never house the approximately 200 horses being used by the carriage trade.
In the mean time, the carriage horses do not get daily turnout. Instead, they are kept in upper floors of buildings, then, are still led through the streets from buildings that are blocks away from Central Park, then forced to stand on the hard asphalt streets, for hours on end, waiting to give rides to tourists. It's indeed a cruel trade, that the majority of New Yorkers would like see ended, not perpetuated by building stables in Central Park, if that were even possible. The Transit Workers Union, unfortunately, walk lock step with the Teamsters Union, a group that had been hired by the horse carriage owners to lobby for the carriage business.
The CP police horses are part of City Government, so that cost can be justified. But the carriage trade is owned by 68 individual private companies and is not part of the government. If one of the council members thought to introduce such a bill, it would end up in the courts for years -- with issues like Park Land alienation and Landmark issues. Just shut the cruel and unsafe business down. With all the horse sanctuaries in the US, they could easily be placed.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for laying out in detail NYC’s long history of failure to adequately address the scourge of the carriage horse industry. It’s a call to action for all New Yorkers who oppose this cruel industry to let their voices be heard by their elected officials — and to elect lawmakers who will lead with compassion, not complacency. Thank you for not giving up!
Thanks, Steve - and the most important message is that orgs like VFAR do not understand why the horses and stables can't go in the park - but it does not stop them from pushing it and getting ignorant council members to support it. It is basically Park alienation (parkland for the people - a legal concept), and the fact that Central Park is a national and NYC landmark, both the park and the existing architecture.
This is an excellent report prepared by the foremost authority on the New York City horse-drawn carriage issue. Building stables in Central Park is a preposterous idea. The majority of New Yorkers want to see the horse-drawn carriages banned, and the younger generation in general has nothing but contempt for this cruel and outdated practice. The times are changing, the paradigm is shifting, and horse-drawn carriages will indeed become a thing of the past.
Thanks Janet. Our work is cut out for us. And we have to keep on fighting the good fight.
What great writing and arguments, Elizabeth. Abundant thanks.
Thanks, Priscilla - much appreciated, and thank you and Friends of Animals for being true to the carriage horse issue.
Thank you for this helpful piece that details the history of this horrific industry. It seems like most New Yorkers oppose the cruel horse carriage industry. It's politicians who keep the industry alive (and the tourists who willingly exploit horses).
Thanks, Dustin - and you are correct. Politicians will say what they think you want to hear - i.e. Bill de Blasio - and the promise to ban the carriage horses on Day 1, which he did not. Unions are very strong in NYC, and I've never been able to figure out what is going on behind the scenes with the TWU and the carriage drivers. No one in government is willing to investigate.
Well written and explained- tx you for always being a voice for the carriage horses. Sickens me to my stomach every time I see them😢
Thanks Fiona -- I appreciate that. We do go back a long time, don't we! To think that they are trying to sneak this proposal in. And really, shame on VFAR and everyone associated with them. Shameful. And it shows they don't understand the complexities of the Park alienation and landmark issue.
Thanks for mentioning this issue. Very important.
Building stables in Central Park is a ridiculous idea. It's been proposed for years, but as of now, the carriage horses continue to be stabled outside of Central Park, primarily in facilities like the Clinton Park Stables, which are dilapidated buildings that house the horses on upper floors.
Separately, the Central Park Conservancy did build a five-stall stable for the mounted parks enforcement patrol officers, which is located near the Central Park Zoo, in 2011. The cost for the five stall stable was $700,000, paid for by the City. Some people assume that these stables were for the carriage horses, but they were not. They were for police horses. These stables could never house the approximately 200 horses being used by the carriage trade.
In the mean time, the carriage horses do not get daily turnout. Instead, they are kept in upper floors of buildings, then, are still led through the streets from buildings that are blocks away from Central Park, then forced to stand on the hard asphalt streets, for hours on end, waiting to give rides to tourists. It's indeed a cruel trade, that the majority of New Yorkers would like see ended, not perpetuated by building stables in Central Park, if that were even possible. The Transit Workers Union, unfortunately, walk lock step with the Teamsters Union, a group that had been hired by the horse carriage owners to lobby for the carriage business.
The CP police horses are part of City Government, so that cost can be justified. But the carriage trade is owned by 68 individual private companies and is not part of the government. If one of the council members thought to introduce such a bill, it would end up in the courts for years -- with issues like Park Land alienation and Landmark issues. Just shut the cruel and unsafe business down. With all the horse sanctuaries in the US, they could easily be placed.