De Blasio To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages- Page 2

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:27pm

You guys, it's better with the block feature.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:28pm

He's suggested that the horses be replaced with antique cars (with the same drivers). I think that's a charming idea. And you might be surprised at how quickly things become part of a city's legend--from the Eiffel Tower to the Millenium Eye, or whatever the hell that Ferris wheel in London is called.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:30pm

I'm happy to discuss this with Goth. He's not posting and running, like some, and I believe he's actually stating an opinion he supports and not just trolling. We can disagree civilly, I think.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:30pm

I think most attempts to end animal cruelty is a positive thing. I say most because you do get the nut jobs who really have no clue what they are talking about or doing.

I live in a farm area where there are lots of horse farms. I never see horse drawn carriages around here. I might see people riding horses down the street sometimes, but it is nothing compared to the streets of NYC and most of them are heading to the trails to ride.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:34pm

1. de Blasio's first order of business is to ban something? We've had 12 years of Bloomberg banning things. The least he could do is announce something positive that all New Yorkers could use.

He has stated that this was not his first order of business. Many times. He stated it will be done in his first few months in office, as it should be.

2. Banning horse drawn carriages cuts into the tourist trade. New York can't afford to mess with the tourist trade because it's one of the few things that brings revenue to the city.

I don't think you live here if you think that the horse drawn carriage industry is one of "the few things that brings revenue to the city". There are literally thousands of other things to do for tourists that bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, annually. Only clueless, ignorant tourists take carriage rides. They don't understand the horrendous conditions that these horses have to live in. IF they did, the would not support it.

3. As I've already mentioned, the much worse problem is people with dogs. They shove them in tiny crates and carry them on the subway. They let them poop all over the sidewalk. And they leave them all day long in hot apartments, unattended.

Do you know everyone in NYC with a dog? There is no dog poop on the sidewalk in my neighborhood and the majority of people hire dog sitters (multi million dollar business here) if they're going to be gone all day. Hot apartments? It's wintertime, dude.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:40pm

By "few things" I didn't mean as opposed to all the other revenue within the tourist trade. I meant that the tourist trade itself brings in a huge chunk of NYC revenue. Messing with tourist revenue is a tricky business because New York is a huge tourist town. Especially if de Blasio keeps up Bloomberg's practice of allowing businesses and contractors to take all the land virtually tax free.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:40pm

And while he's banning, can he please get rid of those awful pedicabs, cluttering up the streets and asking for $3 a minute.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:40pm

Also, the head of Global Federation for Animal Sanctuaries has said “The equine community can easily absorb the small number of horses that are in need of homes if and when the carriage horse industry is closed". I have no idea why Bloomberg would lie about that, but I really don't know why the hell he does anything he does so....there's that.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:43pm

"And while he's banning, can he please get rid of those awful pedicabs, cluttering up the streets and asking for $3 a minute."

Now there's an idea I can get behind. I'm not even sure if those things have insurance. If one tipped over or was hit by a car, would the passengers have any claim for medical bills?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:45pm

"By "few things" I didn't mean as opposed to all the other revenue within the tourist trade. I meant that the tourist trade itself brings in a huge chunk of NYC revenue. Messing with tourist revenue is a tricky business because New York is a huge tourist town. "

De Blasio said he would work with existing drivers to set them up with alternative vehicles to ferry tourists around Central Park. So, the tourist dollars will still be there.

[bobs3]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:46pm

During the run of SUGAR BABIES, Ann Miller was leaving the Plaza Hotel with the writer of the show (Ralph Allen) and a horse drawn carriage strolled by:

Ann: I once got laid in one of those.

Ralph: Really Miss Miller? Which one of your husbands was that?

Ann: HUSBAND? You think I'd marry someone who'd screw me in a carriage?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:47pm

I'm sure Kommandant de Blasio is only banning this because he doesn't want the peasants to think more highly of themselves than they ought to.




Link

Updated On: 12/30/13 at 10:47 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:51pm

Antique cars could be stylish, kicky, and fun. No one will miss the depressed horses.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:51pm

Think of the long list of people who enjoyed Central Park carriage rides:
Jacqueline Kennedy
Truman Capote
Cole Porter
and many more

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:51pm

"Antique cars could be stylish, kicky, and fun. No one will miss the depressed horses."

Except what we don't need in Central Park is MORE cars. Some tree hugger is going to start complaining about the noise, the smell, how they are powered, etc.

Updated On: 12/30/13 at 10:51 PM

[bobs3]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:55pm

Yes get rid of or least regulate the pedicabs the same way taxis are regulated. Post the fares (which should be regulated by the city) and install meters that issue receipts so that unsuspecting tourists aren't ripped off. Every time I see tourists step into one of those atrocious vehicles I think to myself "it would have cost you less money to hire a Town Car."

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:55pm

Jesus, it's like talking to an air horn.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 10:57pm

I put the welfare of horses before the tourists who want to ride in one of those carriages.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:16pm

"Except what we don't need in Central Park is MORE cars. Some tree hugger is going to start complaining about the noise, the smell, how they are powered, etc."

You sound like the tree hugger. Do you object, yourself? If not, don't offer it as an argument.

At any rate, there are all kinds of ways to power cars.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:19pm

Why don't they just have those little carts they use to transport people around the airports? They can make them longer to fit more tourists in.

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:24pm

I'm in Philadelphia, a little south of all of you. But my city has at least as strong an affiliation to the horse drawn carriage trade. I live,walk and drive at the epicenter of these hucksters.

The horses are aged and swaybacked. They have cracked hooves. They're blistered and scarred and sullen.

About a year ago I was looking for a fireplace mantle at a salvage spot north of Center City and realized that I was across the street from the housing for the carriage horses. It was a brick fronted warehouse with a ramp that went up three stories with no visible lighting, and I'm sure little heat.

It was Dickensian in the extreme.

The people who take these carriage rides, the little kids and their parents, the guy about to propose to his girlfriend, the retirees getting a little history lesson; they don't think of the fundamental abuse that these animals are subjected to.

So Elaine Stritch petted them. I wouldn't be surprised if those pets were a nervous recognition that they were near, but hardly at the Carlyle.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:33pm

Think of the long list of people who enjoyed Central Park carriage rides:
Jacqueline Kennedy
Truman Capote
Cole Porter
and many more

You mean FAMOUS people have road in them? Well my gosh! I guess they are for the best then! Do you listen to the thoughts that go through your head?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:34pm

"Do you object, yourself?"

I object to cars in Central Park. I think it should remain a quiet place where people can get away from cars.

I have no objection to horse drawn carriages, I think it's a "green" alternative to ferrying tourists around.

[Addison D.]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:36pm

Frankly, I don't give a f**k whether or not Jacqueline Kennedy, Truman Capote or Cole Porter were OK with the grotesque abuse inflicted on the carriage horses. I prefer to come to my own conclusions rather than blindly mimic the attitudes of socialites and celebrities.

Our culture used to be comfortable with things like a group of smiling, happy slaves clapping and singing spirituals along with Bette Davis in 'Jezebel'. There are still folks down South (and maybe up North, too) who think that "everyone was happier" back when everybody "knew their place". Life was better, more peaceful, more gracious. Over time, our understanding evolved and we realized that a way of life predicated on the enslavement of a group of people was not really, truly gracious.

The clip-clop of horses hooves and a carriage-ride around Central Park may be a lovely, romantic notion, but it is NOT really, truly, lovely. It is predicated on the abuse and misery of the horses involved. Happily, it seems that our ability to learn continues to evolve.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/30/13 at 11:36pm

I have a problem with people who don't care very much about animal welfare.