Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

For a little background -- in September, I was contacted by one of the Transportation Committee members of CB 4. I was told that they were considering endorsing the Avella/Rosenthal bill and was asked to make a statement and mobilize people to come out in support. I was leery although I wanted to support this. In 2006, CB4 held a similar hearing, which turned into a sham. They ended up recommending to the City that a dedicated lane for carriage horses be created. This, in a neighborhood (9th and 10th Avenues) where traffic is so crazy that the cars make their own lanes -- I have seen five in addition to the parking lane. This is what the industry wanted.

I have been sick but recovering from a serious illness and was not able to attend the hearing, but heard from many people the next day. For starters, the agenda was changed at the last minute. Instead of the Avella/Rosenthal bill, the co-chair, Jay Marcus, announced that they would be hearing testimony on the "improvements" that were made since the industry bill - Intro 35A - was passed in 2010. Since we know that the industry bill was bogus, written to benefit the drivers, not the horses, I would not have encouraged people to attend. This was truly an ambush and a terrible waste of people's time, besides being very unprofessional. Who was Marcus pressured by -- the industry? the Teamsters?, Christine Quinn? At the last minute representatives from the offices of Rosenthal, Avella and Glick decided not to attend because of this change.

• Learn more about the bogus bill that was passed into law last year. Click here for the video.
• Click here to read the Avella/Rosenthal bill

Another person said:

• Drivers turned out in force. Many were behaving badly, skulking around and sneering and insulting us up in our faces, though not necessarily loud enough for the chair to hear (or to identify who was talking). Example: one driver walked past me, stopped and said "crazy bitch!" though it wasn't clear if he was speaking to me or referring to the female speaker. Many stared us down in an attempt to unnerve us. One got in my face and said in a sickly sweet voice, "Hi, how are you?" He repeated this with another observer; the young lady beside me seemed terrified. Another driver interrupted whoever was speaking to tell me repeatedly that I am crazy and should "take my meds."
• As Demos Demopoulos of the Teamsters union walked down the hallway on his way out, he made a point to mention Jimmy Hoffa (guess Demos' feathers were ruffled by the speaker who pointed out that the union representation is a sham and that the drivers don't have health insurance--a point that was noted by several of the board members). When a young lady said she would read your written testimony on your behalf, loud boos erupted and drivers called "time's up" or such. The board chair budged just a bit, saying that she could only read a paragraph or two and then she would have to leave the written testimony for them to review later. I didn't see all the speakers, but the point is--the intimidation tactics were very real.

In 2008, we planned a fund raiser at a local restaurant in midtown. It happened to be Irish owned. We explained to the owners exactly who we were and he was OK with it. But two weeks before the event, he canceled because the drivers had warned him not to host our fund raiser. Some time later, a church on 60th and Amsterdam was hosting a photography show, which benefited us and a horse rescue. The church was also lobbied by the industry to close the show. They did not.

The present administration heading by Mayor Bloomberg favors the carriage industry. It is odd considering that his daughter is an equestrian and is apparently in favor of a ban. Speaker Christine Quinn is indebted to the Queens Democratic Party, which has always supported the carriage industry and has a lot of influence. They run NYC like it is their personal fiefdom, ignoring the will of the people. They forget it was supposed to be a democracy. We are waiting until a new mayor takes over in 2013 and we hope between now and next year, a good candidate come to the forefront.

This is another interesting bit of history - the testimony of Peggy Parker, executive director of the Carriage Horse Action Committee. This was given at a council hearing in November 1993. Click Here.

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!