In our last post, we talked about the appeal of horse-drawn carriage riding, how it represents Thanksgiving. We wrote, “Horses are able to transport us to a simpler, more beautiful time.”
Of all the holidays, Thanksgiving bring us back to the basics: food and loved ones. We stand by that statement and there is perhaps no better example of ‘bringing us back to the basics’ than horse-drawn carriages. They are equine time machines, plain and simple. When you think of horse-drawn carriages, you immediately think of the classy glamor of New York City in the wintertime, the Wonderland of Central Park. The image seems as American as apple die, doesn’t it? This time of the year, we should be thankful for these things, equine time machines that transport us to a simpler, more beautiful time.
Perhaps that is why so many New Yorkers were upset when Mayor Bill de Blasio first announced he would pursue ending the Central Park horse carriage industry. The industry is quintessentially New York that taking it away might remove a bit of soul from the Big Apple. However, Mayor Blasio seems to be changing his tune and is seeking to not eliminate the industry altogether, but to reduce it.
The New York Times reports, “Reviving a cause that some supporters had hoped he would abandon, the mayor has proposed shrinking the number of horses allowed to ply the park from 220 to just a few dozen, and moving their home from the West Side of Manhattan to a stable inside Central Park – minimizing their exposure to traffic on city streets.”
Citing animal rights, the Mayor has some backing when it comes to the issue, but horse-drawn carriages have been a presence on city streets since Victorian times. For many New Yorkers, this would be like getting rid of skyscrapers – removing an important part of city pride and identity, not to mention the carriage drivers that would lose their jobs. This is understandably a heated issue in New York and no resolution seems to be in sight. What do you think? Should Mayor Blasio remove the city’s equine time machines?