Public Voices for the New York City Carriage Horses

Don’t let old cars replace carriage horses (October 22, 2015: Staten Island Advance)

By Craig Sheldon
Manhattan

In several recent letters, Linda Barizone, has asserted that the modern electric car that Steve Nislick paid for should replace the authentic, historic NYC carriage horses.

There are several problems with this line of argument:

First, NYC voters overwhelming favor the carriage horses. Quinnipiac, the gold standard of opinion polling, shows that 65 percent of voters want to keep the horses. Second, the bill to ban the horses does not include any provisions about granting a franchise for such vehicles. Third, the Central Park Conservancy has stated that these vehicles will not be allowed in the Park. And for good reason – can you imagine putting dozens of additional heavy motorized vehicles in the middle of Central Park’s runners, bikers and pedestrians. It’s a recipe for disaster.

NYC does not need more cars, period. Let’s preserve our wonderful history by allowing the NYC carriage horses to be part of our city forever.