6-42/276 October 16, 2011
 
 

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HORSE SENSE
Periodic updates about issues and actions concerning New York City's Carriage Horses +
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages www.banhdc.org

Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

PLEASE FORWARD TO LISTS, FRIENDS & ASSOCIATES ** Three petitions to sign ** CB4 carriage horse hearing ** horse manure problem ** drivers overcharging on websites **
NOTICE: Please follow us on Twitter @BanHDCarriages

COMMUNITY BOARD 4 HEARING ON CARRIAGE HORSE BILL
This Wednesday, October 19th
taped blinders Community Board 4, which covers the district of the carriage horse stables and is also Speaker Christine Quinn's district, will hold a hearing on whether to support the Avella/Rosenthal bill that is currently in the state legislature. This bill would ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC.
  • When: Wednesday, October 19th at 6:30 pm
  • Where: Holland House, 351 W 42nd Street.

Please come to the hearing prepared to give three minutes testimony why the Board should support this bill. It is very important to get a huge crowd to attend since it will directly impact on whether CB4 supports the bill. Please mark the date on your calendar.

OVERCHARGING IN THE CARRIAGE TRADE
Why are they allowed to get away with it?
weary horse The law passed last spring 2010 gave the NYC carriage drivers a rate increase. A 20 minute carriage ride cost $50, with each additional 10 minutes costing $20. The NY Post learned about a web site charging far more than that. All carriage drivers in NYC, whether involved with a web site business or as individuals, are governed by the same rules and regulations.

NY Post - 10/2/11 -Horse 'thieves' hit Central Park - Tourists 'ripped off' - By GINGER ADAMS OTIS - Tourists who book horse and carriage rides online are getting taken for a ride. CentralPark.com, designed to look like an official city site to New York's most famous green space, is selling hansom-cab rides at sky-high prices to unwary tourists. "40 minutes = $165. Reserve Now," touts CentralPark.com, underneath a picture of one of the iconic buggies. Longer tours of one hour go for $235 and 90 minutes for $325 -- and prices soar even higher on holidays. But city law sets prices for horse hacks. A legit 40-minute ride should cost only $90 -- $50 for the first 20 minutes, then $20 for every 10 minutes that follow, said the city Department of Consumer Affairs. Drivers are also limited to strict pickup and drop-off zones, and must wait in line in order to take fares. Yesterday The Post found three London tourists who'd booked a $235 ride on CentralPark.com -- but when they showed up, no carriage was there. "I really thought it was the actual Central Park Web site -- it looks so official," said a crestfallen Amy Havell, 27, upon learning she'd been ripped off. "I didn't know the real prices." Havell, her mother, Elaine Nockles, 51, and her aunt Elaine Farmer, 40, got a free whirl around the park from sympathetic buggy driver Ian McKeever.

The city is cracking down on such scams, the DCA told The Post. "DCA is investigating CentralPark.com's horse carriage rides and encourages anyone who is charged more than the permitted rates to call 311," said agency spokeswoman Abby Looten. Legit hansom drivers are kicking mad about the whole thing. "We want that Web site and others like it shut down. We have aggressively been bringing these sorts of scams to the attention of the city. Our business is being stolen every 15 minutes from under our feet, and tourists are getting ripped off," said Horse and Carriage Association president Stephen Malone. CentralPark.com didn't return calls for comment, but in an e-mail from its marketing director said the site offers "extras" for special trips, like balloons, photographs and more and also advertises the city prices for rides in its "About" section of the Web site. "We are not the tour operators, we simply act as a lead-generation site for the tours," Eileen Callen wrote, adding that the tours are booked via a third-party that actually executes the trips.

Last week The Post booked a $165 ride through CentralPark.com, and the carriage was helmed by a former pedicab driver. "There are a couple of Web sites that sell trips online," said the driver, Orkut. "There are four or five of us who deal with CentralPark.com, and about 10 drivers who go with another site," he said.

CITY INVESTIGATING?
don't hold your breath
charlie - nytimes The web sites that are referred to in this article are nothing new. This overcharging scam was brought to the attention of the Department of Consumer Affairs at the January 2009 hearing held by Council Member Tony Avella on Intro 658 - the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. This video is from the 2009 hearing:

Look at the prices on Central Park Horses - the name suggests they are an official site. 30 minutes should be $70, not $90; 45 minutes should be at most $110 - not $150; 1 hour should be $130 not $175; 1 hour and 20 minutes should be $150 not $200. The law does not allow them to charge for extras - i.e., "Our prices reflect guided tour, credit card processing and reservation fees."

Gotham Carriages is another company that overcharges and has been doing so since at least 2009. The question remains. WHY IS THIS INDUSTRY ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH THIS ILLEGAL ACTIVITY?!

HORSE MANURE
DoH: "horse manure is not a health risk unless people consume it."
rsized into park 10/13/11 - Marcia Kramer of CBSTV news reports: Exclusive: Horse Manure Becoming an Epidemic in and Around Central Park. DNA also picked up the story - What's the Stink, Bloomberg OK with manure on the street:

The carriage industry for tourism has been around since the late 1940s when Mayor William O'Dwyer issued 68 medallions. In the 1800s there were no cars or much of a tourist industry if any. Everyone used horses.

SEVERAL PETITIONS TO SIGN FOR CARRIAGE HORSES
Why it is important
It is important to sign petitions directed to legislators because they were voted in to represent you. They need to know your position on an issue even if they will not do anything about it. They need to be held accountable.

We have three petitions for you to sign:

  • Intro 670 - this is in the City Council and deals with the real humane disposition of carriage horses and making the industry accountable. Please click here to sign.
  • S5013 and A7748 - This is the bill in the NYS Legislature and will ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC. If you live in New York State, please click here to sign
  • Same as above - except it is for people who live outside New York State. Please click here to sign
(Picture above is of Beauty. Because he is a nervous horse, his blinders are taped to limit what he can see. )

SHOULD ELECTRIC CARS REPLACE NYC CARRIAGE HORSES
Vote YES in poll
Should Central Park Carriage Horses be Replaced with Electric Show Cars? Vote Yes.

HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE
igive Through a free registration with iGive, when you buy merchandise on line, your purchase will help us. There are over 700 stores that include such popular ones as Amazon.com, Staples, Best Buy and Barnes & Nobles. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click here to get started.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK & SIGN ONLINE PETITION
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See our Facebook page called No Walk in the Park. And while you are there, please join another anti-carriage horse page by a colleague called 212HorsePower . Horses Without Carriages International also has a Facebook page. Please join!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead.

Thank you for caring about the horses, Elizabeth Forel - Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages - a standing committee of The Coalition for New York City Animals, Inc.

Please DONATE to our campaign to ban the inhumane and unsafe carriage horse industry.