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The New York State Governor has taken a stand against the local horse and carriage industry that puts our local pols to shame.  Gov. David Paterson, taking on the 150-year-old tradition of horse-drawn carriage rides in Manhattan’s Central Park, says the horses need to be treated better or the popular tourist rides should be banned.  His recent comment before an animal activist group, rare from a high-level official, drew praise from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Paterson seeks “more humane treatment of horses that have often suffered due to difficult work conditions,” said Paterson spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein. “Horse carriages are important to New York’s overall tourism industry and to the fabric of New York City’s culture, however we must be certain to treat horses and all animals ethically.”

The romantic rides in ornate Hansom carriages have graced Central Park since the 19th century, drawing 800,000 customers a year. They have been featured in tourism ads and in countless movies and TV shows.  But Paterson and animal rights groups say the horses’ stables are too small and too cold in winter and that the constant work isn’t humane. There are occasional crashes with automobiles, one of which left a horse dead last year.

Currier and Ives Sleigh Race

This past Sunday Central Park was covered by a thick blanket of white as New York City enjoyed the first snowfall of the season.  Later that day the slopes all around the park were covered with all manner of sleds and toboggans as New Yorkers young (and not so) took advantage of the rare, pre-holiday opportunity for downhill racing.  I took a walk up the East Drive towards McGown’s Pass (E. 106th St.) later in the evening and experienced a moment of “Time And Again” temporal displacement.  Streetlights twinkling through the snow, not a car to be seen, or heard, just the soft white mantle covering the road and trees, muting what little sound there was.  Easy to imagine the park a century or so ago, when the first snow of the season was the occasion for a race to the Tavern that once stood at the top of McGown’s Pass.

For most of the latter half of the 19th century, right up until its demolition in 1915, the McGown’s Pass Tavern awarded a magnum of champagne to the first sleigh that reached it each season.  The tradition was carried on with the Central Park Casino until it’s demise in 1934.

McGown's Pass Tavern at 106th St.

The Tavern was originally owned by the McGown family and had existed on the spot in various incarnations for over two hundred years.  It was originally a stop along the Boston Post Road and the site has also been the home of Mt St. Vincent Convent and a museum.  By the turn of the last century it had been rebuilt into an extremely popular restaurant and sportsman’s club – reportedly a favorite uptown spot for then Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.

The space once occupied by the Tavern is now the site of the Central Park Composting Center, a very valuable, if somewhat less fashionable, use for the hill at 106th St.  But even now, on a still night following a snowstorm you can almost hear the muffled thump of hooves and jingling of sleigh bells through the crisp winter air.

 
Pretty swank. As a supporter I’m sure Mr Neeson will be happy to have his picture taken at one of these lovely spots.
 

Really – who wouldn’t want to live here?

More interesting videos:  They show consistent overcharging – particularly now that it is the holiday season. The going rate is $34 for 20 minutes. There is no sales tax.Yet the drivers ask for a tax from unsuspecting tourists. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSun_1Ly6ro&feature=channel

As a warning this second video includes offensive language – so beware. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbZR4FZZQRM&feature=channel

While there were many highlights of the evening, Councilmember Tony Avella speaking of how we can combat the the brutal tactics of the carriage horse owners and Donny Moss telling passionately of his efforts to reach the public with the information exposing the abuse, the most amusing one was when a gnome-like thug, claiming to represent some un-named outlet of “da media” started ranting and had to be escorted away by security. The absurdity of his barely understandable gibbering was accompanied by the chilling realization that the industry had hired such a person to disrupt the proceedings.  The fact that Mayor Bloomberg and Councilmember Quinn would align themselves with such people is confusing at best.

September 18, 7:30 p.m.
Visionfest Film Festival
Tribeca Cinemas
Tickets – $11

Sept. 22, 7:00 p.m.
AMC THEATER
3rd Ave and 71st St
Please join Mary & Peter Max, Ally Sheedy, Kristen Johnson and Nellie McKay for a screening of BLINDERS to benefit the League of Humane Voters. Panel discussion will follow screening. You can find ticket info at League of Humane Voters

Click here to watch the movie trailer
To read more about the movie and to see the press coverage, please visit: http://www.blindersthemovie.com/

It would seem inevitable that this antiquated, brutal industry must be banned, as it has been in cities all over the world, from London to Beijing.  The fact that the People’s Republic of China has proscribed this practice and the great city of New York has not should be telling enough.  The next screening is not scheduled until August, but I am trying to find out if another showing can be organized before then.  This is a movie all New Yorkers should watch.