Latest news with #NYCLASS
New York Times
7 days ago
- New York Times
New York City Carriage Horse Collapses and Dies on Manhattan Street
A carriage horse that had worked in New York City for less than two months collapsed and died at a Manhattan intersection Tuesday afternoon, officials said. The horse, a 15-year-old mare named Lady, was found unresponsive near the corner of 11th Avenue and West 51st Street around 2:30 p.m. by police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call, officials said. She was pronounced dead after being brought to a Hell's Kitchen stable. No criminality is suspected in the death, the police said. The city's health department, which regulates carriage horses, is investigating, a spokeswoman for the agency said. A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death. New York's horse carriage trade — a vestige of old-world charm to some and a form of animal abuse to others — is politically divisive, and Lady's death quickly became fodder for the running debate over whether horses should be doing such work. Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of the animal rights organization NYCLASS, accused city officials and the Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, of colluding to harm the roughly 200 horses that carry passengers around Central Park. The current rates are $72.22 for the first 20 minutes and $28.89 for each additional 10 minutes. 'Our city is protecting the abuse of animals instead of protecting the animals from abuse,' Ms. Birnkrant said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
7 days ago
- New York Post
Carriage horse dies on NYC street in horrifying scene — nearly three years to the day distressed Ryder collapsed
Lady was 15 years old, but couldn't survive six weeks on New York's streets. Lady, a Central Park carriage horse, collapsed on a Hell's Kitchen street and was 'dead when she hit the ground' Tuesday — almost three years to the day since a horse named Ryder fell, and later had to be put down, sparking outrage across the city. 'I couldn't help but see its muscles jiggled, and its tongue was rolling around on the ground,' bystander Alex, 26, who was walking to get a smoothie when she saw a crowd gathering around the collapsed horse on 11th Avenue, told The Post. 5 Lady, a Central Park carriage horse, was 15 years old. Obtained by the NY Post 'It looked completely dead, I mean, its eyes were open and unblinking the whole time.' Lady, 15, was new to the city and had only done two rides this afternoon, according to Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for Big Apple horse carriage drivers. 'She was dead when she hit the ground,' said Hansen, who thinks Lady may have had an aneurysm or a heart attack. 5 Lady was seen down at the intersection of West 51st Street and 10th Avenue. X/NYCLASS At first, the driver attempted to revive Lady, and deli workers brought out buckets of water, said Bernadette Edwards, 38, who worked at the deli across the street. By the time Alex walked down, other horse carriage drivers from the stables around the corner were trying to lug Lady's carcass into a trailer. 'I was just like watching (Lady's) mane dragging on the ground, and there were some fluids coming out of it onto the ramp into the trailer,' Alex said of the horrifying scene. 5 Hansen said that Lady 'was dead when she hit the ground.' Obtained by the NY Post 'It felt like they were really desperate to remove it.' Police arrived, and Lady was driven to the stables for carriage horses around the block. Her body will eventually be transported to Cornell University for a post-mortem exam. 'Horses are collapsing, suffering, and dying over and over again — and nothing changes,' said Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets. 5 Lady's body will be transported to Cornell University for a post-mortem exam. Obtained by the NY Post 5 The driver attempted to revive Lady at first. X/NYCLASS Hansen insisted that Lady was not overworked before her death. The horse was recently purchased from Pennsylvania and had passed her veterinary exam on June 12 with flying colours. 'We have some of the strictest carriage regulations in the country,' Hansen said. 'We're under constant scrutiny because we work in public, and now there are smartphones.' Earlier this summer, carriage driver Ian McKeever was acquitted on charges of animal abuse in the death of his horse, Ryder, whose public collapse in Midtown triggered three years of controversy and a city council bill, Ryder's Law, which, if passed, would ban carriages in Central Park. 'By blocking Ryder's Law, (lawmakers) are protecting abusers and silencing the public demand for change,' Birnkrant said.
New York Post
28-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
Central Park carriage driver breaks wrist, others injured after two horses break loose: ‘Thankfully I was not killed'
Wild, wild horses dragged these buggies away. A pair of runaway carriage horses broke a driver's wrist and injured others in Central Park on Monday after they got free and bolted — just one week after another horse went rogue, wild videos show. Advertisement 6 A pair of runaway carriage horses took off in Central Park midday Monday. Edita Birnkrant The chaotic escape occurred about 2:30 p.m. when a steed prepared to take on passengers near the Central Park Zoo was spooked and sped off towards 59th Street traffic, Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, told The Post. The horse, named Shadow, then abruptly veered back into the park and crashed into a fleet of parked pedicabs, Birnkrant said. Advertisement The commotion then panicked a second stallion, causing it to bolt too. There were no passengers aboard either buggy hitched to the animals. 6 Two carriage horses running wild — without drivers — through Central Park on Memorial Day. Edita Birnkrant Dramatic footage of the scene, posted to social media, shows a pedicab driver reining in the horses while panicked coachmen frantically chase after them. Christina Hansen, the union rep for Central Park's carriage horses, told The Post that Shadow — a new horse to the park — was eating beside his 40-year industry veteran driver when he slipped out of his bridle. Advertisement 6 A pedicab driver intercepts a carriage horse running loose in Central Park. Edita Birnkrant The hero pedicab operator — who was the same driver who helped to corral a runaway horse last Sunday — said he intercepted the buggy of the first horse with his bike. He sustained a leg injury from being kicked during the mayhem. 'Thankfully, I was not killed, it was too scary,' said the pedicab driver, who declined to provide his name to The Post. He described how it was 'the second time to see the same thing — to have the horse coming at full speed.' Advertisement 6 'The incident highlights the need for hitching posts to tether idle horses in place,' Hansen said, 'which drivers and the union have requested from the city in previous discussions.' TikTok/@mirandamooney The driver, whose pedicab was flipped over and damaged in the kerfuffle, ended up cycling Shadow's coachman to Mount Sinai West for a broken wrist. Another carriage driver was reportedly kicked in the head, and a third broke their hand. 'The heroic pedicab driver saved people's lives doing what he did and putting himself at risk,' Birnkrant said, adding that the horses must 'definitely be traumatized' and that she would 'be surprised if they didn't have some kind of injuries.' 6 Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, calling to end the practices of horse carriages in New York City outside City Hall during a rally Wednesday. Paul Martinka Hansen said the incident highlights the need for more hitching posts to tether idle horses, 'which drivers and the union have requested from the city in previous discussions.' However, Birnkrant argued that a hitching post could be easily ripped out by a startled horse — and that it is just another example why the practice should be banned in the Big Apple. It is 'simply a miracle' that nobody was 'killed' in the recent incidents, the animal rights activist said at a rally outside City Hall on Wednesday, before adding, 'but the luck is going to run out.' Advertisement 6 Animal activists stage a die-in outside City Hall on Wednesday in protest of the horse carriage industry. Paul Martinka Meanwhile, animal activists doused themselves in fake blood outside City Hall to demand an end to the carriage horse practice. 'We have had dozens of these runaway horse crashes, horses dropping dead, crashing into vehicles and injuring people,' Birnkrant said. 'Not only is this a deadly industry, but it's extremely dangerous for everyone in Midtown.' Advertisement A spokesperson for City Hall told The Post that the Adams administration is 'dedicated to keeping New Yorkers safe everywhere in our city, which also means keeping our city's animals safe. 'We are looking into this concerning incident,' the rep added.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Video of runaway carriage horses in Central Park sparks renewed calls to shut down industry
There are renewed calls to shut down New York City's horse carriage industry after two horses were caught on video running loose in Central Park on Memorial Day. Supporters, however, argue there's a simple fix to stopping such incidents. Carriage driver injured trying to catch runaway horse Video taken Monday afternoon shows a runaway horse, named Shadow, pulling its carriage in Central Park without its driver, followed by a second runaway horse and carriage with a man chasing after it. The union that represents carriage horse drivers said Shadow's headpiece came off while he was eating. His driver, a 40-year industry veteran, attempted to put it back on, but the horse, which was new to the park, got away. A second driver ran to help, and that driver's horse followed Shadow, the union says. The second driver broke his wrist catching his horse and needed surgery. Video taken on May 26, 2025, shows a runaway horse, named Shadow, pulling its carriage in Central Park without its driver, followed by another runaway horse and carriage with a man chasing after it. NYCLASS Daouda Dapsota and Abdoul Aziz Gassambe were among the pedicab drivers parked near the Fifth Avenue entrance of the park who saw Shadow get loose. "It was crazy. A lot of people were screaming. People that were scared for their lives," Dapsota said. "When they were running, the driver followed him, tried to grab him, but he knocked the driver down," Gassambe said. "The driver fell down ... and then the horse keep going." Another pedicab driver who didn't want to be identified could be seen in another video escorting Shadow. He said he got hurt trying to stop the horse. "It was a crazy day for me because it was the second accident that almost happened to me, because a week ago, I also stopped the other horse who also run away," he said. The union said in that incident, which happened on May 18, the horse's bridle also came off while it was eating. Animal rights advocates call for end to NYC's horse carriage industry There's pending legislation to phase out the horse carriage industry in New York City. It's backed by the animal rights organization NYCLASS. "These kinds of terrifying, dangerous incidents will keep happening because horses are nervous prey animals. When they run, they run out of control," NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant said. Long-time horse carriage driver Adrian Marrs argues the city can avoid these situations by adding posts so they can tether idle horses in place. "We would like to have more tie posts, and it would make -- obviously, it's a no-brainer -- it would make things a lot safer for the horses and the drivers and everybody," Marrs said. In a statement, the union said, in part, "Horses have been in Central Park for more than 160 years and are part of its history and charm. We're committed to safety and, again, urge the city to install hitching posts for our beautiful and iconic Central Park horses." The union said the horses were not hurt but were evaluated by a vet per its protocol. A City Hall spokesperson said in a statement, "Mayor Adams and our entire administration work every single day to keep New Yorkers safe. This incident is deeply concerning, and we are looking into it. We will review any proposed legislation."
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
N.Y.C. Horse-Drawn Carriage Crash Sparks Renewed Calls for Ban as 2 Operators Are Hospitalized
Two horse-drawn carriages collided in Central Park, hospitalizing both drivers and reigniting calls to ban the industry Though the horses weren't seriously hurt, advocacy groups like NYCLASS are citing the crash as proof that the practice is unsafe and outdated The crash follows a 2022 incident where a horse named Ryder collapsed in the street and later died, prompting a celebrity-backed petition to end carriage ridesA horse-drawn carriage collision is resurrecting a call to ban the transportation in N.Y.C. On Monday, May 26, two horse-drawn carriages rammed into each other in front of the 60th Street & East Drive marker in Central Park in New York City, hospitalizing the two carriage operators. According to a statement obtained by PEOPLE from the New York Police Department, one of the horses was startled and ran westbound towards 5th Avenue. The second horse was also startled and ran towards the northbound end of 60th Street. Both carriage operators "sustained minor injuries in an attempt to regain control of the horses," per the statement. "EMS transported both individuals to area hospitals." There are no reports on whether there were passengers in the carriages at the time of the incident. According to ABC News, the horses did not suffer any severe injuries and were back to work on the south end of Central Park later that evening. Though many city visitors enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides in N.Y.C., animal advocacy groups such as NYCLASS are citing this incident to support a citywide ban on horse-drawn carriage rides. Animal Legal Defense Fund, an organization that aims to enforce stronger anti-cruelty laws and the humane treatment of animals, has also led calls to end the use of horses in tourism work. In 2022, the organization petitioned to ban horse-drawn carriages in N.Y.C. after an elderly horse named Ryder collapsed in the street due to the overwhelming summer heat. An unnerving video of the incident quickly circulated, leading the Animal League Defense Fund to send a petition and letter to the New York City Council. 'Tragic outcomes for horses haunt New York City's history, as well as other cities across the country,' read the letter. 'Horses, carriage passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and others are put at risk by this cruel and reckless industry. We say: No more.' Along with hundreds of others, the petition was also signed by notable names including Billie Eilish, her brother Finneas, Kaley Cuoco, Noah Cyrus, Joan Jett, Kesha, Joaquin Phoenix, Sarah Silverman, Christian Siriano, Hilary Swank, Justin Theroux, and Marisa Tomei. Just two months after his collapse, Ryder died. He was roughly 30 years old. "We are devastated to learn that Ryder has died. His horrific collapse, after years of abuse, inspired tens of thousands of people from across the globe to stand up to carriage horse industry cruelty," said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, at the time. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "But make no mistake: this tragedy was not caused by an act of God — Ryder's death was the result of savage cruelty and greed. To make a profit, the horse carriage industry would have literally worked Ryder to death if it weren't for viral videos and the people who exposed their endless lies and cover-ups. Their mistreatment of Ryder is the reason he is dead two months later." Read the original article on People
