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 AND COLLEAGUES ** NYS Avella/Rosenthal bill ** Take action ** Looking for Board Members ** Valentine's Day protest ** Letter to the editor
A SHORT MESSAGE OF APPRECIATION TO YOU!
Welcome to new subscribers. Some of you have subscribed on your own. Others opted in for more information through our Change.org petition. We hope you will stay and support our ongoing efforts to enact legislation to put an end to the inhumane and unsafe horse-drawn carriage trade in NYC, which we describe below.
Also - thank you to those who have donated to our advertising fund. We are so appreciative. Your ongoing support is heart warming and inspiring. We will acknowledge you individually but as a volunteer organization, it is not always easy to be responsive. We also love the fact that we get support from all over the world. Wow!
Please "like" our official Facebook page - No Walk in the Park. And if you tweet - Please follow us on Twitter, Click here.
BILL TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES IN NYS LEGISLATURE
Bill Numbers: S667 and A997
The only bill to support in the campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC is the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the State Legislature. It is a pure ban. There are no strings attached. This is a link to a petition we have on change. org. Please sign it if you have not done so already.
You can read the legislation by clicking on the bill numbers, S667 and A997 . Text in CAPS is new. Text with a strike through is deleted. All other text will remain.
PLEASE CALL MEMBERS OF CITIES COMMITTEE
to support S667 and A997
The best way to lobby your representative is to meet in person. If anyone wants to do that, please contact us at coalition@banhdc.org. The next best thing is a snail mail letter. Please see our newsletter from last week for the names of all the Cities Committee members and the links to their pages. Then comes phone calls. They are effective also.
The telephone list is divided into Senate and Assembly - please make as many phone calls as you can. All you have to say is:
My name is ______ and I live in ______ (borough or other city if not New York.) I am calling in support of S667 (or A997 if you are calling an Assemblymember.) I would like to know if Senator ______ (or Assemblymember _______ ) will sponsor this bill, which would prohibit the operation of horse-drawn carriages in New York City. Please get back to me on this issue. I will call back in a few days if I do not hear from you. " You should leave your e-mail , telephone number and/or address. If you live outside of New York City or state, please call anyway. This issue has resonated around the world and the carriage trade is frequented by tourists.
If they ask for any information and they generally do not - and if you are not able to provide it - tell them you will get back to them and then contact us - coalition@banhdc.org.
- CITIES COMMITTEE - SENATE:
- Andrew Lanza - chairman (NYC) - (518) 455-3215
- John A. DeFrancisco - (Syracuse) (315) 428-7632
- Mark Grisanti - (Buffalo) (716) 854-8705
- Joseph E. Robach - (Rochester) (585) 225-3650
- CITIES COMMITTEE - ASSEMBLY
- Carl Heastie - chairman - (NYC) (718) 654-6539
- Edward Braunstein (NYC) (718) 357-3588
- John Ceretto (Niagara Falls) (716) 282-6062
- Jane Corwin (Clarence) (716) 839-4691
- Marcos Crespo (NYC) (718) 893-0202
- Rafael L. Espinal, Jr. (NYC) (718) 235-5627
- Michael Kearns (Buffalo) (716) 826-0152
- Micah Kellner - (NYC) (212) 860-4906
- Shelley Mayer (Yonkers) (914) 779-8805
- James Tedisco (Schenectady) (518) 370-2812
- David Weprin (NYC) (718) 454-3027
E-mail addresses are deemed to be not as effective because they can be easily deleted. However, if you do not have the time to make phone calls and want to take the chance and write an e-mail - these are the groupings:
SENATE
lanza@senate.state.ny.us; jdefranc@nysenate.gov; grisanti@nysenate.gov; robach@nysenate.gov
ASSEMBLY
kellnerm@assembly.state.ny.us; MayerS@assembly.state.ny.us; HeastieC@assembly.state.ny.us; braunsteine@assembly.state.ny.us; cerettoj@assembly.state.ny.us; kearnsm@assembly.state.ny.us; weprind@assembly.state.ny.us; espinalr@assembly.state.ny.us; corwinj@assembly.state.ny.us; crespom@assembly.state.ny.us; tediscoj@assembly.state.ny.us
RECRUITING NEW VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS
We're looking for several talented and conscientious volunteer board members to join the team of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. If you are interested in banning horse-drawn carriages in NYC, are familiar with the issue and are willing to give 2-4 hours a week to this issue, please contact us at coalition@banhdc.org to discuss whether this volunteer opportunity is right for you.
- Required skills: Microsoft Word, Excel, knowledge of Facebook
- A plus: Familiarity with other social media such as Twitter; knowledge of web based design and graphics; experience with photography; video recording and creating YouTube videos; writing skills; legal skills
Board members must live in the NYC area because of meetings, etc. . However, if you really want to help and have some of the skills mentioned, we welcome you.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages was formed in 2006 and is a standing committee of The Coalition for New York City Animals, Inc., a 501(c) 4 not-for-profit organization, which was founded in 1995. This is currently the only issue in which we are involved.
To find out more about the Coalition, please see this summary - A Chronology and Highlights of the issue and our Accomplishments.
The Coalition has a special and unique role to play in putting an end to the inhumane and unsafe horse-drawn carriage trade. We support the Avella/Rosenthal bill in Albany that would prohibit the operation of horse-drawn carriages in New York City.
VALENTINE'S DAY PROTEST & EDUCATIONAL EVENT
Thursday February 14th - save the date
Please join us on Valentine's Day to protest the horse-carriage trade and educate tourists why they should not support this cruel, inhumane and dangerous business.
- When: Thursday, February 14th - 6:00 to 7:45 PM
- Where: north side of Central Park South - west of Fifth Avenue
LOBBY DAY IN ALBANY SAVE THE DATE
We have set the date of May 7th for Lobby Day in Albany. Last year, we worked along with the League of Humane Voters who rented a bus leaving from New York City. We separated into teams of three and four and met with many Senators and Assemblymembers. We had a very successful trip and picked up support. More information will follow but for now - just pencil in the date.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - IN MANHATTAN MEDIA
January 31, 2013
This letter was written in response to an opinion piece that touted the electric cars and celebrities. NY Press - Saving the Horses. Many people want to see the horse carriage trade come to an end in NYC, and with the looming mayoral election, now is the time to get serious and support legislation that could make it happen. We started this campaign in 2006, and all online polls done since that time show between 75 and 80 percent of respondents favoring a ban of this trade.
Most people who support a ban just want to see the horses off the street and have not analyzed the electric car bill-Intro 86A. But the money does not exist for these cars. I know, because I have analyzed the bill and the financials behind it. It will cost $4,000,000 the first year to put 23 cars on the road to substitute for 23 horses. The overall cost will be close to $12,000,000. Politicians, who may not realize the funding does not exist, have said that they will leave it up to the tourists to decide which they like better-the cars or a carriage ride. This is not what anyone who supports getting the horses off the street wants. How much longer are politicians going to look the other way and try to shift responsibility for doing the right thing? Are they waiting for a human death to occur as it has in other parts of the country?
Besides, a ban of this business should not be dependent on the success of an untried business.
Continued support for this Emperor's New Clothes bill is hurting the legislation that actually would make a difference: New York State Senate Bill S667 and Assembly Bill A997, sponsored by Sen. Tony Avella and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, respectively.
These bills are are not glamorous and not surrounded by celebrities but nevertheless have a better chance of passing and becoming law if legislators have the courage to support them.
It is time! Horses do not belong on congested city streets. There have been too many accidents to mention here, and many continue to go unreported.
Please get involved and visit us at www.banhdc.org.
- Elizabeth Forel, Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
PLEASE DONATE TO THIS CAUSE
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is gearing up to advertise as much as possible this year to promote the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the NYS legislature. This is the only bill worth supporting because it is a pure ban and it is not dependent on the success of an untried industry. We are an
all-volunteer organization, which means that 100% of your donations go into the campaign. For more information about us - please check out our accomplishments indicated below.
Please help us by donating what you can. You may donate by check or credit card. Click here. The orange "make a donation" button will allow you to donate by using Paypal. Other wise, you may donate by check.
PLEASE JOIN US ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK & YOUTUBE
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 iGive - 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.
