Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

THE TRUTH:

• The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages believes in an unconditional ban of the horse-carriages and this means shutting down the business within six months - not 3 years, which essentially means there would be no ban. We have no conflicts of interest. We do not understand why Steve Nislick has not spoken out against all these charges unless they are true. But we do know that it is greatly hurting the issue - and our work.
• There are excellent humane and safety issues for why this anachronistic business needs to be shut down but no one is addressing them. NY Class and Nislick has become the issue and has taken the attention away from the real issue - the long suffering horses. We would love the opportunity to do an interview with a fair reporter. Do they exist?
• We have nothing to do with NY Class - we are opposed to the electric car because it does not exist; is much too expensive and is being used to throw the issue off course. It is a sham. But we are all being lumped together.
• The media does not do fact checking. They take whatever the drivers say as fact, including only interviewing tourists who have taken a carriage ride. See my blog Lies and Desperation the New York Carriage Trade.
• if jobs are an issue as the drivers and the media want you to believe, than the city can retrofit the carriages at a fraction of the cost of the "electric cars."
• The "electric cars" have been promised for years and the only thing that exists is a scale model. At $175,000 per car - $12,000,000 for the so-called fleet of 68 - they represent a very risky investment, which would probably fail when pitted against the much cheaper horse-carriage. This is why a 3-year phase out is a very bad idea. It would give the drivers a continued foothold. Of course, it is highly unlikely they would find $4,000,000 to spend on 23 cars the first year to go against the 45 horse carriages. VERY BAD IDEA!
• Former Speaker Christine Quinn's demise -- Because it goes along with their story, the media has credited Anybody but Quinn (NY Class) with electing deBlasio. This could not be more untrue for many reasons. deBlasio's campaign began to pick up for several reasons: Anthony Weiner, who was a great crowd pleaser and could have been Mayor, dropped in the polls because of his sexting melt down; the truth was coming out more and more about Quinn's killing term limits, slush fund scandal; opposing the the sick-pay bill; the shut down of St. Vincent's hospital; her cozy relationship with Mayor Bloomberg, who by that time was unpopular; her dictatorial personality and how she used the council as her private fiefdom; many in the Gay community including celebrities Alan Cumming and Cynthia Nixon backed deBlasio. While ABQ did help with their TV commercials - Quinn's demise had already started and was well on its way. In addition - Donny Moss, (film maker -Blinders: the truth behind the tradition) had already been educating the public about Quinn's record for the last 2-3 years. Tireless as always, Donny's group was called Defeat Christine Quinn. They had excellent posters and literature - they showed up at almost every event Quinn attended - very often she had to go in the back way. They were beginning to get noticed by the media. Donny is the unsung hero here.

WHAT DID DEBLASIO SAY? : we heard him say he will ban the carriage trade in a short period of time. None of us heard him say three-year phase out. If this is intended, believe me, there will be NO BAN and you can take that to the bank. This is why people voted for him. BAN - NOW! Otherwise, we would have voted for Joe Lhota. Lhota was also opposed to horse-drawn carriages and referenced the retrofitted carriages - a REAL SOLUTION to job loss.

So we are still waiting for something to happen but we are working behind the scenes. Nothing good to report yet.

But it has been a long time since a horse-drawn carriage was the most efficient way to travel uptown. In modern life, animal activists say, horses and cities don't mix. "The carriage trade is unnecessary and it is not safe to keep them on the street. Cars cause injuries also but they are very necessary to transport people, " says Elizabeth Forel, president of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, in an email to the BBC. The tight quarters and crowded city streets are a recipe for disaster, she says, noting that a tourist in Salzburg was killed in 2010 after being trampled by a startled carriage horse. "Every time there is an accident in which a horse spooks, it seems that NYC is once again dodging the bullet if no one is killed. These horses weigh between 1,500 to 2,000 pounds."

If the carriage drivers want to continue to act like spoiled children, they may just bring their horses to a kill auction out of spite. But just know that there are many people working on this issue to assure the horses will get good homes. The names of the sanctuaries or private people interested in providing homes will and should not be released because those people will be harassed and threatened by the drivers.

If you would like to testify at the Forum please contact Senator Avella's Legislative Counsel, Rebecca A. Sheehan, at 718-357-3094. Please note that you should limit your testimony to 3 minutes and please bring 10 copies of your testimony with you on January 17th. Please make arrangements now to take time off from work to attend this very important session. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You do not have to testify to attend.

image is of whitewashed license plate on carriage done to prevent being reported for violations.