Bucolic Central Park? Not exactly

Central Park is one of the most beautiful places in New York City. Its pastoral settings pay tribute to Frederick Law Olmsted, who together with Calvert Vaux, designed the park in a simpler era. He had a great deal of foresight yet surely could not imagine how crowded parts of the park would become. Ironically, the most congested part of the park is section in which horse-drawn carriages are largely confined--the so-called "lower loop." See the first photo? These guys are about to make a left turn--in front of the horse.

This 1.7-mile oval stretches from the park's southern boundary at 59th Street to the east-west transverse at 72nd Street. And make no mistake--there are dangers to pedestrians, bikers, skateboarders, and horses in this part of the park.

The junction immediately southeast of 72nd street is easily the most hazardous part of the park in terms of collisions, which often are associated with injuries to people. Runners and bicyclists are aware, if not always mindful, of the risks, and accidents occur here--on this hill--with some regularity.

Car, pedicab, and carriage traffic moves around this loop in a counterclockwise direction, and car and taxicab traffic feeds into the park at 72nd Street from Fifth Avenue.


Skateboarders swarm the area, loving its hills.

Runners, walkers, skateboarders, and bicyclists have the option of going left on 72nd Street toward the west side, or continuing north on East Drive up the hill toward the Metropolitan Museum or Great Lawn. All the while, cars and carriages are bearing down and making a left turn as people either cross 72nd St. to go north, or bear left.

Decisions are made quickly, and often a horse-drawn carriage will be cut off abruptly. That is unwise.

Nearly 5,100 runners took part in a New York Road Runners Race on May 8, and they poured out of the park at E. 72nd Street in droves, as they typically do on any given weekend. Tourists were out on rented bicycles, maps in hand. Fast racing-type bicyclists are always out.

I observed this junction for about 10 minutes and saw a runner very nearly get run over by a pedicab (which, like carriage, can't exactly stop on a dime!). In this dangerous mix, the carriages are working, and the drivers often have their back turned so that the can chat with the passengers (as I have documented on this blog). Among all the many near-misses, a serious accident is waiting to happen. The many recent horse spooking incidents, including a runaway horse who tossed his rider during the royal wedding procession, underscore the danger of putting horses into loud and chaotic situations.

Get the facts about carriage rides, carriage accidents, and what you can do to help the horses.
Did you know? There's a global coalition called Horses Without Carriages International
Horses Without Carriages International Day is June 4, 2011

Horses spook, royal wedding edition

It seems that good sense goes out the window at weddings. From royalty to commoners, and all the bridezillas in between, people can't resist putting horses into loud and chaotic situations that can easily cause a horse to spook. That's what happened after the wedding of England's Prince William and Kate Middleton. A runaway horse tossed his rider a few yards away from the royal carriage as Prince William and Duchess Kate were leaving Westminster Abbey.

Reports have cited a couple of possible reasons for the horse to panic: some said crowds were screaming, others blamed a trumpeter. Either way, horses spook easily and it is perfectly predictable to expect them to do so. As prey animals, they will panic and flee from frightening situations--and it doesn't take much. In New York City, Smoothie and Spotty both died after spooking and bolting. And when a horse bolts, it is a very dangerous situation. Last year was a particularly gruesome year from carriage horse spooking accidents worldwide, and weddings are another prime setting for horse spooking accidents.

Planning a wedding, or know someone who is? Be reasonable and compassionate, and say no to putting horses into the middle of those spooky situations. It isn't too difficult to imagine what could happen if a panicked horse were to a trample a child. It happened last year in Iowa.
Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

And...they're off!

The slave drivers are gearing up for another steamy summer. This is Tenth Avenue, around 44th Street. The general vicinity of one of the most gruesome carriage horse spooking accidents in recent memory, the accident that killed a young horse named Spotty in 2006. I've got plenty of spies in Hell's Kitchen and the one who snapped this photo tells me that this horse was making very good time making his way up the avenue. Hope the driver is watching out for those post-winter epic potholes.

Shamrock Stables, not long for W. 45th Street

Demolition is under way at the building that was Shamrock Stables. It was kept running for years with a $55,000 monthly subsidy from the city. This, at a time of painful cuts to budgets, agencies, and programs.

The city supports the industry and overlooks its numerous violations of law regarding the care of the horses, fares, and other aspects of the cash-only industry.

After several threats of closure, the stable shut down on June 7, 2010. Most of the horses were crammed into other city stables, which already had substandard stall sizes. Some other Shamrock horses almost certainly didn't fare as well. The same day of the closing, a trailer from Shamrock was seen in New Holland, Pa., at the auction, where "kill buyers" buy horses for meat.

Be safe, Paddy

New York City welcomes best-selling Irish-American author Mary Higgins Clark as the grand marshal for the St. Patrick's Day parade on Thursday. In a break with the event's tradition of having the grand marshal walk the parade route, Ms. Clark will ride in a horse-drawn carriage to be pulled by a horse named Paddy. A very bad idea, indeed, although neither Ms. Clark nor the city seems to have given it much thought.

This decision immediately brought to mind the well-known dangers of putting horses into parades, especially large and noisy ones that are lined with noisy revelers and filled with pipes and drums.

A July Fourth parade last year in Bellevue, Iowa took a deadly turn when two horses spooked and bolted, killing a 61-year-old woman (the carriage driver's wife) and injuring 24 others, mostly small children who lined the parade route. One of the horses was killed. "It looked like a war zone," one witness said of the injuries in Iowa. "Backboards everywhere, kids strapped to them."

Cities and towns that put horse-drawn carriages into parades or traffic are putting the public safety at risk, since surveys have shown consistently that humans are almost always injured in carriage horse-spooking accidents. In 2010, the list of grisly carriage accidents in the United States was a long one. New York City has the highest horse-drawn carriage accident rate in the nation. Although human fatalities haven't happened yet, the 2006 accident that claimed the life of carriage horse Spotty critically injured the carriage driver (and occupants of a station wagon also were injured). Smoothie, the horse who died in 2007, had bolted in terror after being spooked by the sound of a drum in Central Park.

Tens of thousands of people have signed paper and online petitions calling for a ban in New York City of this industry. It is inhumane as well as dangerous. Horses spook easily, and it should come as no surprise when it happens in such a noisy place as a huge parade. No one in Iowa expected such a tragic turn. It just happened.

We hope that this year's parade is safe and joyous. If it is uneventful in terms of a spooking accident, be assured that it is only a matter of time until the next serious accident. Perhaps it is just as well that this year's parade route is shortened. The threat of injury, death, and legal liability make the city look reckless, mean-spirited, and foolish.

Learn more about why a ban is needed. Visit the websites of The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and Horses Without Carriages International.

Photo credits:
2010 NYC St. Patrick's parade photo by Richard Perry/The New York Times
2010 Bellevue, Iowa parade photo by The Associated Press/via The Telegraph Herald, Karina Schroeder

A gruesome year...so far

Today brings news of a serious carriage horse spooking accident in Eureka, California, which is north of San Francisco. The horse bolted after being spooked by skateboarders, according to a report in The (Humboldt County) Journal. The carriage driver suffered head injuries and was hospitalized. No word on his condition. The horse, Cinnamon, is said to have suffered leg injuries though able to walk. After being startled by the sound of skateboards, she took off galloping and crashed into a parked car, dragging the carriage with her. The carriage finally was stopped by a wood pillar. The carriage driver was pulled into the street.

This comes just weeks after horses spooked during a July Fourth parade in Bellevue, Iowa, a tragic turn that killed a 61-year-old woman (the carriage driver's wife) and injured 24 others, mostly young children. One of the two horses who spooked was killed.

Cities and towns that put horses into traffic are putting the public safety at risk, since surveys have shown consistently that humans are almost always injured in carriage horse-spooking accidents.

In the US and around the world, the list of recent accidents is, well, too long to list. Among some recent serious accidents are those in York, England; Atlanta, Georgia; suburban London (Windsor Estate) and Mesa Fire, Ariz. Not surprisingly, there are also vehicle-versus-carriage crashes, like these in Philadelphia (5 people, 5 horses hurt) and Anchorage, Alaska. As you can imagine, vehicles have the safety advantage.

Is this a new phenomenon? Not! Here is a sampling that a commenter posted in Iowa. Oh, and here is list from "spookedhorses" blog of carriage and buggy crashes, many from 2009.

Bloomberg hates animals. Got it?

On another note, the city of NYC continues its slaughter of Canada geese; when people found out about Bloomberg's latest stupid assault, they were disgusted. He tried to make bad guys out of the US Department of Agriculture, but those who did the exceptionally inhumane gassing were merely doing Bloomberg's bidding. Here is one comment:

OMG.. that is so cruel. I am a Park Manager from another city. Believe me, if I try anything even close to what you have done I would be applying for a new job. These are living creatures… if you dont want them around relocate them or introduce a population control plan (i.e. remove the eggs from the nests and dispose of them)… Dont you have animal cruelty laws in NYC… OMG
— Leo (#755)

I will NEVER visit NYC while banal decisions like this are allowed to transpire… The city and it’s citizens exist in a democracy, which through action or inaction manifests collective will or lack there of. The people who make the decisions in NYC are clearly not intelligent. As many of the individuals in the 30 pages of comments have illustrated, there are far more humane and even creative ways of dealing with what contextually is a fairly simple problem. Yes, all cities exist with problems and poor decisions, but the act of taking life needlessly represents a myriad of problems that likely outweighs any desire for rational and compassionate solution. F.D. Roosevelt was simply wrong; Man has nothing to fear but LAZINESS. Try harder.--Nigel (#742)

The geese have obviously progressed over the years, in the sense they thrive despite all our attempts to harass, shoot, gas and “exterminate” (another term from WW2) them.
But, what does all this say about our own species?
A species apparently incapable of building a plane able to withstand collision with an 8 lb bird. — PattyA (#709)

Re: Bloomberg, geese-gassing: Yes, he ordered it. People need to keep this in mind. Do you think this would have happened otherwise?
Remember, most of you people who are commenting here did NOT vote last year–you welcomed Bloomberg back for a third term, despite two referenda in which the voters rejected extension of term limits. Around 90% of registered voters did not even bother. For this, we were rewarded with more Bloomberg, more killing of wildlife.— Delaney (#730)

The mayor of New York City has no regard for non-human life. Carriage horses, pigeons, raccoons, Canada geese--he despises them all.

If you hurry, you may be able to add your own comments (as of Saturday, July 17, comments were still being accepted--and hundreds of disgusted New Yorkers are weighing in).

WHY did NYC approve this slaughter? Good question. The Washington Square Park blogger tackles this one.