For better or worse, Liam Neeson is effectively the face of the Save The Carriage Horse movement, solidfying his position in Monday's New York Times op-ed. Riding a wave of popular support, the New York Daily News has started a petition to preserve the "majestic horses trotting through Central Park." Liam Neeson is pleased.
We know the story by now. De Blasio hates horses and the working class, preferring to “side with the wealthy folks who have used their money and influence to get him elected and are now expecting payback,” 33-year-old carriage driver Christina Hansen told the News.
The latest Quinnipiac polling found that 64% of New Yorkers do not support a carriage horse ban. NYCLASS, the animal protection organization that has been leading the charge to ban the horses, have suggested replacing the fleet of 68 carriage horses with antique electric cars. Critics say they are a waste of money, with the prototype coming in around $450,000. NYCLASS says that price would drop by nearly half if they were ordered on a larger scale.
Carriage driver Colm McKeever told the News that antique cars are absolutely not something the customers are interested in. "The answer is categorically no. It’s all about the horses. It’s this beautiful animal in such a bucolic setting," he said. Ah yes, bucolic Central Park, where you really can lose yourself in the wonder and majesty of nature. As authentic as a golf course!
In an op-ed also published today in the Daily News, the paper calls the cars "contraptions [that] are the work of conscienceless civic totalitarians." They emphasize the senseless loss of jobs the ban would cause, the self-righteous animal rights who would oversee the violent destruction of an entire industry, and the advocates' foolish awe at nothing more than "slow-motion taxi[s]."
The cars are the real crux of the issue, it appears, and we spoke with Elizabeth Forel, president of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. The volunteer-based coalition was formed in 2006 and has been campaigning for the end of horse-drawn carriages ever since. Though their goals are aligned with NYCLASS, that is more by coincidence than anything else.
"We support a ban and they [NYCLASS] are supporting the electric cars," Forel told us. "They've always felt that the electric car is the way to go...I don't believe [they] will happen because they are too expensive." Her organization supports the popular alternative of retrofitted carriages, similar to the one seen in this WNYC video. The retrofitting process costs around $15,000-$20,000, and wouldn't necessarily mean a loss of carriage jobs. Either way, Forel remains unconvinced on the expensive NYCLASS antique car alternatives.
"It's a throw away. They will not be allowed in the park, nor should they be. I understand that everyone is concerned about these jobs; whether or not I agree with that is a different story," Forel told us.
A study done by Forel has shown a turnover rate of over 500 horses in the industry. There is no law requiring records be submitted to the Department of Health regarding the sale of "retired" carriage horses.
"These conservative right wing editorial boards have been going after de Blasio since he won the primary in September," Forel opined. "The carriage horse issue has become a metaphor for his progressive agenda. Why are the carriage horses so important to these people? It's a tiny, tiny industry."
You can read all of the Daily News' horse racing coverage here.
