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 FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES: Diving horse act canceled ** Web site has illegal rates ** Lobby Day ** Support state bill ** Bus to Albany ** Who represents you? ** Our fund raiser ** Reporting an incident ** Horse of a Different Color event ** Blinders **
ATLANTIC CITY HORSE DIVING ACT IS CANCELED
Activism works - Thanks to everyone
The controversial horse diving stunt planned for Atlantic City has been canceled because of YOU! Kudos to all the people who care about animals and spoke up. That sinking feeling: Atlantic City plan to bring back diving horses tanks amid activists' outcry did not acknowledge people's pressure.
Not surprising at all was the Facebook comment from the VP of the NYC carriage horse association that someone sent to me. This is what she said: "I don't see ANY cruelty, abuse, or neglect, and people do FAR more PROVEN dangerous things with horses everyday across this country. Therefore, my support comes down on the side of the owner to provide a living for him/herself and the horse. " No big surprise there. She is, after all, a "horse expert."
People who are in the business of exploiting horses or any other animal will generally agree with other animal abusers.
CARRIAGE HORSE WEB SITE RATES ARE ILLEGAL
why doesn't the City do anything about it?
Take a look at the rates that NY Central Park Tours is offering for a carriage horse ride. Click Here. Outrageous! The legally approved rate, which was codified into law in the spring of 2010 is $50 for the first 20 minutes and $20 for each additional 10 minutes. This is what they are charging.
- Valentine's Day - $270 for 30 minutes. The legal rate is $70. The balance of $200 is for chocolates and flowers???
- Central Park - $200 for 45 minutes. The legal rate is $110.
- Times Square - $200 for 45 minutes. The legal rate is $110. Carriages are also not allowed in Times Square until after 11:30 pm Monday through Saturday and after 7:00 pm on Sunday.
We have complained to the Department of Consumer Affairs and they are investigating. The web site claims "During the Holiday Season (Nov 24 - Jan 5) seasonal pricing rates will apply to Horse & Carriage Tours." Interesting, since the law does not provide for "holiday rates."
LOBBY DAY FOR THE BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE BILL - MAY 01, 2012
Important! Who represents you in Albany - See below
Lobby Day has been scheduled for May 1st in Albany. We will meet with our elected representatives regarding the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages - S5013 and A7748. Please look at the instructions from a recent newsletter by Clicking Here. Please get involved. It is very important for the success of this bill to begin now to contact your representatives by making phone calls. Please make your calls if you have not yet done so. And please make arrangements to attend this event. Arrange to take a vacation day from work if that is possible. More information about what to expect will follow.
We are looking for people who live in these districts. These are the Senators and Assemblymembers who are in the Cities committee in their respective houses, where the bills are. Please contact me at coalition@banhdc.org if you do. You can easily find out by providing your address on the Senate and Assembly web site as provided above.
- NYS ASSEMBLY: Sheldon Silver - 64 Manhattan; Carl Heastie - 83 Bronx; Edward Braunstein - 26 Queens; Alec Brook-Krasny - 46 Brooklyn; John Ceretto - 138 Niagara Falls; Jane Corwin - 142 Clarence; Marcos Krespo - 85 Bronx; Rafael Espinal, Jr. 54 Brooklyn; Brian Kavanaugh - 74 Manhattan; Micah Kellner - 65 Manhattan; Rory Lancman - 25 Hillcrest (Queens); Donald Miller - 121 Cicero; J. Gary Pretlow - 87 Yonkers; James Tedisco - 110 Schenectady; Lou Tabacco - 62 Staten Island; David Weprin - 24 Little Neck (Queens)
- NYS SENATE: � Dean Skelos - 9 Rockville Centre; Tony Avella - 11 Bayside; John A. DeFrancisco - 50 Syracuse; Mark Grisanti - 60 Buffalo; Andrew J Lanza - 24 Staten Island; Suzi Oppenheimer - 37 Port Chester; Joseph E. Robach - 56 Rochester
SUPPORT NY STATE BILL TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES
Please sign this petition if you have not already done so.
This petition has gone viral!!! We currently have over 117,000 signatures in support of the state bill. Can we make it 118,000?. PLEASE sign it if you have not done so already and pass it on to friends and colleagues.Click Here to Sign Petition.
If you live in another country, you can still sign. Add your City and Country in the area for City. We will note it.
SIGN UP FOR THE BUS TO ALBANY
LoHV has arranged a bus at a great price & they have a pick up point
Two more months until Lobby Day! The League of Humane Voters has chartered a bus to leave from NYC on May 1st. It is only $20 - much cheaper than if you go on your own by bus or if you take a train. The bus holds 55 people; has a bathroom and takes about three hours to get to Albany. CLICK HERE TO PAY.
The bus will leave Manhattan at 8:00am, arrive in Albany before 11:00am; it will leave Albany at 3:00pm; to arrive back in Manhattan before 6:00pm. Pick up in Manhattan - from their web site: "the west side of 10th Ave between 44th & 45th Streets. There is a big Hess station that takes the entire block of the west side of 10th Ave from 44th to 45th Street. Please be on the sidewalk of 10th Ave in front of the Hess station.
The bus cannot load there for more than 15 minutes.
So, please be there promptly at 8:00 am."
I already bought my ticket - please buy yours before the bus fills up. Don't wait!! There are still a lot of details being worked out. Stay tuned.
WE ARE HOLDING A FUND RAISING PARTY
on Monday April 23rd - 6 to 9 pm - Save the Date
Please save the date. It will be in the evening at a Manhattan location. More information to follow.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is a standing committee of The Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc. incorporated in 1995 as a 501-c-4. This means we can work on legislation but donations are not tax deductible. This is the only issue we work on. We are all volunteer and pay no salaries. Our expenses include website maintenance, weekly newsletter, graphic design, copying expenses, postage, posters, office supplies, expert testimony, advertising, miscellaneous - basically anything it takes for our campaign, including horse rescue. We also donate to a few equine rescues that support this issue.
HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR
listen to the song on Youtube
Singer and songwriter Brian Gari supports a ban on horse-drawn carriages - AND he will be performing at our fund raising party. This is a very interesting article about him and his famous grandfather Eddie Cantor. Brian Gari at Don't Tell Mama on Friday. Songwriter Brian Gari sets the record straight about his famous grandfather
For those of you who missed the performance at Don't Tell Mama, please come to our fund raiser. Click here for the song.
TWO HORSES DEAD ON HBO PRODUCTION
Is American Humane misleading the public?
Horse Deaths Won't Stop Production of HBO's "Luck" - by Vickery Eckhoff - 2/9/12. This is a very interesting article about an HBO production and American Humane. We are all familiar with the AHA certification shown at the end of the movie credits saying that "no animals were harmed" during the production. But is this really true?
Please register with Forbes and comment on the blog to to show support for their animal stories.
BLINDERS THE MOVIE
Can you show it in your community?
Blinders: The Truth Behind the Tradition is a documentary about the NYC horse-drawn carriage business. It exposes the truth behind the tradition of this inhumane and unsafe trade. It won many awards, including the 2008 Genesis Award for best TV documentary.
If you would like to show Blinders in your community in NYC or NY state, please contact me at coalition@banhdc.org. Donny Moss would be able to travel within NYC and most of Westchester County. If you live beyond that, please consider showing it yourself to a group of people. Appropriate places to show this documentary include libraries, large halls, churches - any where you are able to get a large group.
REPORT HORSE INCIDENTS - IF YOU SEE SOMETHING - SAY SOMETHING
We need you. Be our eyes and ears
If you see a carriage horse incident, please notify coalition@banhdc.org.
- Take pictures (crucial) - videos or stills
- Record exact location of accident - ex. - north/west corner of 60th St. and Broadway
- Get 4-digit license plate number from back of carriage
- Provide a narrative - description of what happened
- Note: Don't worry if you are not sure if what you saw was illegal. We will figure it out. The most important thing is to get the information to us.
You will help to make a difference for these horses. The media learned of six of the last seven accidents from us - the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. And we learned about it from you!! It makes sense that the DoH and ASPCA know about more -- we have requested this information from both the ASPCA and the DoH. The ASPCA has ignored the request. The DoH only admitted to knowing about three accidents, of which we were aware. The public has a right to know just how unsafe and inhumane this industry is. (Picture is of ASPCA car parked off 6th Avenue in the park on 12/24, but this is a common occurrence. The driver never got out of his warm car. There was no way he was able to monitor the carriage drivers. Outrageous.)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Yes we are on Twitter and Facebook -- please join us
We are also in the middle of getting our web site revamped so do not have links to Facebook and Twitter -- but we do have very active accounts. Both Facebook and Twitter are great complements to our weekly e-newsletter and we encourage you to participate with us. Are you on Twitter? If not -- it is easy to sign up. Click here. The Coalition tweets, and we've had a great response. This is a way to stay in touch with us, in real time. We encourage all to "follow" us on Twitter @BanHDCarriages. We'll keep you up to date about accidents, events, demonstrations, actions we'd like you to take, and other ways to help. The messages are short - only 140-characters maximum.
Our official Facebook page is No Walk in the Park. It is an open page and we invite you to "Like" us. We generally post news there as it comes in. We have another page called Horses Without Carriages International, which is tied in with our international coalition.
HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE
Also check out Cafe Press to purchase CBHDC merchandise
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 & Noble. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click here to get started.
On I-Give - the name of our organization is "The Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc. ." We also have three stores on Cafe Press with great t-shirts, bags, hats, mugs, mouse pads, etc. . Purchasing this merchandise helps our organization. Click here.
"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.
