Put this deal out to pasture
What a bunch of horse’s asses! Mayor de Blasio who yielded to and agreed with parking lot millionaire Steve Nislick and his NYCLASS anti-horse-carriage group — which spent nearly $1 million to obliterate de Blasio’s opponent Christine Quinn — says the city has come up with a horse-carriage compromise: Build a stable in Central Park, cut way down on the number of horses, limit the horses to the park and keep pedicabs in limited areas.
The horse-carriage drivers don’t want it, (nor to be out of work), the pedi-cab drivers don’t want it, and the city probably can’t afford it.
De Blasio plans to cut the number of horses from 180 to 95, which would also eliminate — how many jobs? Not clear. Oh.
And what would happen to the out-of-work drivers and the horses? Not clear. Oh.
Stephen Malone, a carriagehorse owner/operator/driver for 28 years and Teamster Local 553 rep, tells me, “We’re working hard to make sure that none of that happens. These (horses) are our private property and nobody is seizing our property! Our horses are given the best of care, and we’re fighting as hard as we can. There is a need for multiple horses for (each) carriage.” Where would the 85 horses they want to eliminate go if they’re
knocked out of the stables?
Says one animal rescue activist, “These horses are working horses — they can’t be stuck in a field somewhere without stimulation. They need to be properly transitioned, as well. Horses are going to slaughter every day. I (saved) another one from the grips of a slaughterhouse a few months ago. Many horse rescue (sanctuaries) are struggling. Every day I get a notice to help save a horse from slaughter — from reputable people. Yesterday, three beautiful horses at a friend’s farm in Ohio. All with papers. All going to slaughter because the rescues are full!”
Would these beautiful animals end up at the glue factory to satisfy the whims of animal activists who say they’re being mistreated?
Malone points to a study conducted by Joseph Bertone, professor of equine medicine, and a team from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., that showed our carriage horses are less stressed than those in pastures. The mayor would know just how well the horses are cared for at those stables — if he’d ever visited.
At the very least, the city’s proposal should guarantee — just to keep it clean and above board — that neither parking lot big shot Nislick, nor any shadow company associated with him, can be allowed to bid on, or build on the site now occupied by two of the stables, which just happen to be very close to the Javits Center, which, in turn, happens to lack onsite parking.
Then you’d have a real horse race.