Public Voices for the New York City Carriage Horses

Leave horses and drivers alone (January 19, 2016: New York Daily News)

Brooklyn: The fact that Mayor de Blasio and NYCLASS (headed by real estate tycoon Steve Nislick) are now working to put the NYC carriage horse stables in Central Park, after falsely claiming the horses were abused, shows a ban was never about the horses and instead was always about getting the prime real estate their current stables sit upon. Why even entertain a compromise with them after knowing that fact?

NYCLASS deserves no seat at the table of any negotiations regarding this industry. The horses already have good homes, but if they are moved into Central Park, it should be all of them. Not one horse or driver deserves to lose their job. Just a year ago I applied for and received my NYC carriage driving license. How are newcomers to the industry ever supposed to get a shift if it’s cut in half now?

De Blasio and NYCLASS should leave the horses and their drivers alone, after already causing them this much grief, over a proposed ban of a thriving tourist industry that even New Yorkers want to keep. As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Jill Adamski