Political entrenchment 101

Why haven't horse-drawn carriages been banned, you ask?
Many thoughtful, rational residents find it incomprehensible that New York City still allows horse-drawn carriages on the streets and ignores the inherent dangers, to say nothing of the inherent cruelty of this industry. And it is an industry, complete with profit margins and difficult decisions about when the "equipment" has outlived its usefulness. Some, like Bud (pictured), are casualties of the job itself.

For those who are new to this issue, perhaps a review is in order. There are some shameful connections between those who supposedly would reform this cash industry and those who are profiting from it. Among them, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Linda Gibbs, a Bloomberg appointee who oversees the Dept of Health, is married to lobbyist Thomas McMahon, whose lone associate in his firm, Jean Kim, is lobbying for the carriage horse industry. Gibbs' brother-in-law also has been representing the carriage industry. Does this seem right?
As you can see, efforts at meaningful reform are doomed to fail--a complete joke. Then there's the corrupt Christine Quinn, speaker of the City Council and renowned animal-hater, who scares away any council members who would support the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. Just run a Google search of "Christine Quinn slush fund" and read about some of her recent shenanigans.
Take Action! Call City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and tell her that you support a ban on horse-drawn carriages, a measure that is endorsed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Humane Society of the United States, to name a few organizations. You'll speak with an aide, no doubt, as Quinn will probably be on the phone with her $600-an-hour lawyer.
Not a New York City resident? Call anyway!

Anything but authentic

John B. Moore, like many others, once thought that New York's carriage industry was a harmless tradition that didn't warrant a second look. Now, he writes on the Central Park Blog, he has been forced "to confront the awful truth" about the industry, reckoning that there is no excuse for making the horses live the way they do--living in squalid cells and working in some of the nation's worst traffic.
Like many of us who have discovered this same awful truth, The Central Park Blogger has been confronted with the industry's PR machinery, which is quite elaborate. Between the paid PR person (Carolyn Daly) and lobbyist Thomas McMahon (whose lone associate in his firm, Jean Kim, is lobbying for the carriage industry), and the unfortunate mix of politics and "oversight," given that McMahon's wife, Linda Gibbs, is the Bloomberg appointee who oversees the Department of Health), you can begin to see how politically entrenched this cash-only industry is. Much effort is devoted to making the horse-drawn carriage industry appear to be an inconsequential diversion. Harmless? That it isn't, because putting horses into traffic endangers the horses as well as the public.

Support a ban on horse-drawn carriages

If You're Reading This on a Blackberry...

You may be a driver of a horse-drawn carriage.

Who the heck are all the carriage drivers talking to? Central dispatch? Jean Kim? Are the drivers planning a meet-and-greet at City Hall? Maybe they're ordering food. How many ways can you multitask while driving a carriage in NYC traffic, anyway?

I'll be damned. I see that carriage drivers are enjoying this blog. Maybe some of the stable owners will give us an update on the goings-on at their oh-so-festive stables.