Results tagged “carriagehorses”

Here's some more bad news about the city's embattled carriage horse industry. The Post reveals that many carriage drivers are charging customers more than the city-sanctioned rates. This comes amidst a highly public fight over animal rights, the announcement that one of the city's few remaining stables will close, and a new proposal replace horse carriages with antique-looking cars.

A plan to shut down a 45th Street stable to make room for affordable housing could put 32 carriage horses on the street — and 17 carriage drivers out of work. Horses in the Shamrock Stables might lose their only place to hit the hay (sorry) by December, when the animals and their drivers are booted from their city-owned building so the Department of Housing Preservation and Development can construct 1,300 units of affordable housing and 10,000 feet of retail space.

Following this weekend's crash, the carriage horse debate surfaces in the headlines once again. CityRoom takes a look at the status of the industry after two years of getting audited by the city comptroller's office. They note that while certain things have improved, "the two agencies that oversee the business have acted too slowly in putting reforms into effect."

The bride said, "Knowing that someday soon horse-drawn carriages in New York will be a thing of the past would be the most wonderful wedding present I can imagine. We're asking other couples who are getting married to steer clear of horse-drawn carriages and avoid turning their joyous wedding day into a day of misery for an abused horse."

In an effort to please both environmentalists and animal rights activists, while still keeping the carriage horse drivers in business (albeit sans the horses), Councilman Daniel Garodnick is pitching eco-friendly replicas of vintage Model T Fords as a replacement of the horse drawn carriages (an idea that has been brought up in the past).

Yesterday over 500 people came together at City Hall to discuss the banning of carriage horses in New York, during the first public hearing on Tony Avella's proposed bill. Unsurprisingly, the passionate debate lasted over four hours, pitting animal rights activists against the drivers who want to keep their jobs. The NY Post reports that one pleaded, "At this time of economic hardship, it's your time to give an industry a chance for survival. It will let me feed my family, my wife and my three children. Please, help me keep my job." He was up against Avella and his supporters, including actress Rue McClanahan, who was there to speak out in favor of the bill. WCBS notes that there are alternatives being offered to the drivers, including training them to be pedicab drivers. One man from the Teamsters Local 553 asked, "They're gonna teach these guys to ride tricycles through New York?"

The carriage horse battle lines were drawn long ago in a war that seems to be never ending. Today the NY Post reports on the two sides: those in support of Tony Avella's bill to put an end to the industry, and those who are adamantly against it (including Liam Neeson). At a public hearing today Avella will pitch his plan, and Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The Humane Society, tells us why it's an important one.

Last night Liam Neeson appeared on the Daily Show and he swears carriage horses are treated like kings in New York, in fact, he'd even live in their stables himself! After some back and forth about the topic, Jon Stewart compromised with the actor, saying that if they could build a horse-friendly space in a meadow in Central Park it might be okay. Neeson says horses don't like the freedom of running in fields, however, and declared: "Everyone thinks cows in the fields would rather be running wild—that's bullsh**, horses don't either."

The world has been waiting to find out where Liam Neeson falls on the whole carriage horse issue, and you can stop holding your breath now, world: the actor has spoken...and PETA isn't gonna like what he has to say. Last week a story ran in the Irish Echo regarding the New Yorker resident's public support of the Central Park carriage industry, which came out in a letter to the City Council.

The Humane Society writes in to alert us of the latest act of cruelty against NYC's carriage horses. "While airplanes were grounded on last Friday, Dec 19th during the snowstorm, the city’s horse carriages continued operation. Forcing animals to work in such oppressive weather conditions is cruel and this is just the tip of the abuse associated with the carriage horse industry." The footage was posted by filmmaker Donny Moss, who directed Blinders.

There's been a lot of noise lately about the horse-drawn carriage industry in New York. In early September it was announced that the city comptroller audited how well the city polices the carriage horse industry (surprise: not well!). This was almost immediately followed by the death of a horse who was apparently spooked by the drums of a nearby street musician. Now all eyes are the industry, and PETA is bringing the message to a Times Square billboard, for all carriage-riding tourists to see.