Public Voices for the New York City Carriage Horses

Horse trading (January 29, 2016: New York Daily News)

Odessa, Fla.: I can only wonder at the horse drawn carriage industry “compromise” negotiated by the Teamsters and the mayor’s office. The carriage industry did their due diligence in making what looks like an airtight case, producing everything from scientific cortisol studies on the horses that proved their contentment, to written testimony from national figures in equine rescue and welfare giving their thumbs up on the iconic NYC business. Five consecutive Quinnipiac polls showed landslide public support and the overwhelming majority of City Council members were either supportive or reluctant to further legislate against the industry, as it just had a City Hall overhaul in 2010. Just mere weeks ago, all of the news reports were saying that the mayor could not come up with enough votes to push the ban through. What really happened here? Are the Teamsters using the industry as a sacrificial lamb to bargain for someother legislation? Since all medallion/carriage owners are their own small businesses, are some of the high-profile carriage people using their alliance with the Teamsters as a way to profit by legislating away half of their competition? What happens if the ban is passed and the Hell’s Kitchen stables are sold for development and then the city decides against building the stables in the park? Or what if the stables are built by 2018 but then their lease is canceled in 2019? What is the real reason defeat is being snatched out of the jaws of victory? Andrea Whiting