Posted on 01/03/2014 6:42:52 AM PST by mandaladon
New York City’s brand-new mayor Bill de Blasio has an ambitious progressive agenda that includes tax increases, much talk about somehow crushing inequality and punishing “the elite.”
Two issues high on de Blasio’s agenda are the creation of more abortion clinics across the five boroughs and an outright ban on horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park.
De Blasio’s animosity to the horse-drawn carriages runs deep, apparently.
“We are going to get rid of horse carriages, period,” he said at a news conference Monday, according to CNN. He added that he believes the tourist attraction — popular since 1858 — is inhumane and dangerous.
The new mayor, who took an oath of office on Wednesday administered by former President Bill Clinton, wants to replace the romance of horse-drawn carriages with the romance of antique-looking electric cars. (The carriage drivers would switch to these vehicles.)
The City Council must approve de Blasio’s carriage ban before it can take effect.
If the iconic horse-drawn carriages are banned, over 200 horses will be out of work.
The fate of those horses is not at all clear. It could be the slaughterhouse.
The United States already sends over 90,000 horses to Mexico and Canada to be killed each year.
“Horses that have jobs are the last horses that get neglected,” carriage driver Christina Hansen told the Daily News. “It’s the horses that don’t have jobs that we’re seeing shipped to slaughter.”
The price for sending the 200 carriage-carrying horses of Central Park to a shady pasture would be about $500,000 every year.
In addition to his dedication to eliminating horses that draw carriages, de Blasio, 52, is deeply committed to opening a slew of abortion clinics across New York City.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
I want him to go “full commie” - implement everything he believes in in NYC.
He’ probably never beer to Staten Island!
“He added that he believes the tourist attraction — popular since 1858 — is inhumane and dangerous.”
So instead they’ll render the horses into glue, and use aborted fetal placenta for cosmetics.
Enjoy, but do not ask for a Federal Bailout later on - -”””
For those of you who are younger—that would be the SECOND bailout for NYC.
IF the stables in NYC are housing 200 horses & the carriages, that is a fair sized piece of land. Someone wants that land for development-—hence get rid of the carriages & horses.
A smart move for some other city would be to offer ALL the horses & carriages to be transported out of NYC & put to work in a new city which would appreciate them. Perhaps somewhere in Florida or Georgia, etc???
Keep the horses and job but require welfare sponges to be neutered and spayed before receiving any FREE services and spending money.
The horses pulling carriages that I’ve seen look incredibly sad and beat down.
Father Pavone has a recording on EWTN about how the Supreme Court listed rivers, swamps, etc. as being living and needing protection, but when it came to abortion; one just stated that babies in the womb were not living and thus didn’t need protection.
Sad. (I post the little quotes each evening at the bottom of my thread.)
Now that DeBlasio has eliminated their jobs, how will the horses find meaningful work? How will they support their families? Will he provide a retraining program so that they can become carpenters, or artists, or electricians?
Uh, Dinkins was one NYC Lib Mayor who asked who asked to be put on the Federal Welfare Dole, and probably Lib Mayor LaGuardia probably did the same from FDR.
And don’t forget Lib RINO Bloomberg’s passing the tin cup to Obama for the nasty Sandy Storm damage.
Lib NYC is Lib Detroit-East, but has a better Harbor.
So I guess NYC cops riding on horses is also cruel treatment of horses. Is the Communist mayor of NYC going to ban them to? And don't forget to pull down any statues depicting famous people on horseback and destroy all of those old paintings of people on horseback at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Oh, one more thing: those westerns on NYC televison stations need to be banned also. People might get the wrong ideas watching those movies. No more westerns to be shown anywhere in NYC!!
And stop eating cows too!!!
Well, the police are part of the government,
so therefore are subject to different rules.
That’s the way communism works.
Me too. The state has two dem senators, a dem governor and now this idiot. I thought my state of Illinois was bad.
I hear 60% of New Yorker City people are on welfare? Is that true?
I know that they’ll try to keep things operating for as long as possible,
but at the city/state level, they cannot print or borrow money like the feds do,
and letting them go full bore commie on the city/state level would be the best thing to demonstrate the failure of socialism.
You can’t sustain 60+% on the dole.
I’m wondering if de Blasio will force all the “rich” from the city and make NYC into the next Detroit?
You get the gov’t you vote for. I have no pity on those who live in the city that voted for de Blasio.
This was posted on INSTPUNDIT today, I suspect it contains more than a nugget of truth:
“Why do journalist continue to ignore the money? You forgot to mention that one of the largest donations for his candidacy came from Steve Nislick and he has been eyeing the property where the stables are for years. Is this really about the animals or to pay off a donor?”
Proof? Communists don't need no stinking truth.
See also: Obama says if you like your health insurance plan you can keep it.
I would say somewhere between 0 and -0.
I like horses and I like Central Park and I like horses in Central Park.
Central Park, a man-made park, has lakes and streams and woodlands and rambles and meadows. Its separate circulation systems were specifically designed as carriage drives, equestrian paths and pedestrian walkways. It is one of the most inspiring combinations of architecture, landscape design and urban planning to be found anywhere on the face of the earth. It is the heart of New York City. There is no comparable urban green space to be found anywhere.
I like the idea that a city kid can go to the middle of Manhattan and see and touch a horse. People and horses like each other and have worked together for ages. People who know and spend time with horses know it’s not inhumane to make them draw carriages. That’s what draft horses were born to do. They have massive strength, yet are so gentle that even children can lead stallions.
The horses of Central Park are the last of the many wonderful working horses which actually built New York City. These magnificent horses are our Living History ... our Heritage. A horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park is a magical experience and a beloved attraction for both residents and visitors to the city.
But NYCLASS, an animal rights organization, wants to end this 150-year tradition. They claim that it is inhumane and cruel to the horses… that the horses are abused.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The horses are very well taken care of and have a very good life. The horse-carriage industry faces some of the most rigorous regulations of any industry in the city. Five separate city agencies monitor their operations, as does the ASPCA. The horses have mandatory work hours, mandatory vacation on pasture, and cannot work when the temperature is above 89 or below 18 or if it is raining or snowing. As long as the relationship between horse and driver is built out of love and respect, both benefit. In the past 30 years there have only been three horse fatalities. There is no compelling data to support ending the industry and the livelihood of those in it.
But in reality, this has NOTHING to do with the animals’ welfare – it’s all about money and real estate. Manhattan real estate is very valuable and developers have their eyes on the redevelopment of the west side. NYCLASS was founded by a real estate developer who wants the land the horse stables currently occupy for his Hudson Yards/Hell’s Kitchen real estate development project.
The anti-Horse Carriage group has eloquent speakers on their side and the new mayor in their pocket. In light of the more than $1.5 million NYCLASS spent on getting di Blasio elected, is it any surprise he wants to return this political favor first? It’s always good to see politicians tackling the pet projects of special interest groups that made significant campaign contributions on their first day in office. It’s worth noting that NYCLASS also poured hundreds-of-thousands of dollars into an effort promoting candidates in eight City Council races … the very same City Council that will be voting on this issue.
The new mayor campaigned with the promise of jobs for New Yorkers. Now he wants to ban the carriage horses ... putting horses, drivers, stable custodians, and support staff out of work. He’s also sending any movie or television production company elsewhere if they want to use a horse and carriage in their production. More jobs lost, and less dollars flowing into NYC. It doesn’t make economic sense for the city.
NYCLASS animal activists don’t care about the reality of what happens to the horses. They chant and hold up signs for the cameras but they have no involvement in the care or rescue of horses. These gallant creatures will likely be slaughtered when the businesses close down.
Again, this is not about cruelty to horses … it’s all about money and real estate. Many cities, New York included, owe their existence to the noble horse drawn vehicle. How quickly this contribution is being forgotten. There should be a place here for generations to see how things moved before the pollution spewing internal combustion engine took over. But welcome to modern-day America, where activists buy elections and then get to dictate to the rest of us.
Organizations in league with NYCLASS:
ASPCA - donated over $450,000 between 2008-2011 to NYCLASS
ED SAYRES - CEO of the ASPCA and co-founder and co-president of NYCLASS
PETA - partner organization
HSUS - partner organization
MAYORS ALLIANCE FOR NYC ANIMALS - Jane Hoffman, Executive Director is also the Treasurer of NYCLASS
ANIMAL HAVEN - Archie Gottesman, President of the Board of Directors and Owner of Edison Properties
STEVE NISLICK - co-president and co-founder of NYCLASS and CEO of Edison Properties (parent company of Edison ParkFast and Manhattan Mini Storage)
MANHATTAN MINI STORAGE - funded PETA’s anti-carriage-horse campaign featuring Lea Michele
I have nothing against the carriages. I just haven’t seen any horses in my 15-20 visits that looked healthy. Granted its a small sample.
I know a guy who grew up in NYC. He heard a sound here in tampa he had never heard before. It was a frog. I guess the park is beautiful but certainly not on the same level as real outdoors.
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