New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made banning the horse-and-carriage rides in Central Park an issue in his election campaign, and said last week that he hopes to get them off the street by the end of the year. “Why continue to subject horses to a risky nose-to-tailpipe existence,” a spokeswoman for animal rights group NYCLASS said back in March, ”when there’s a gorgeous, cruelty-free alternative, the electric antique replica horseless carriage?”
Today NYCLASS unveiled a prototype of the proposed carriage: The elegant vintage electric car was designed for NYCLASS by The Creative Workshop (TCW), a car restoration business based in Florida. “We’re confident the vehicle we’ve created is a worthy successor to the original brass-era horseless carriage that roamed the canyons of New York City back in the day,” said TCW’s owner Jason Wenig in a statement. “The Horseless eCarriage celebrates the style and personality of that era.” According to the specs, the carriage can hold 8 passengers, hit a top speed of 30 mph and travel 100 miles on a battery, which takes about six hours to charge. Although no one has answered the question of how they will replicate the iconic aroma of horse manure on a hot August day.
I think this is a brilliant solution to an onerous problem. You may be able to argue that the horses would be appropriate if they only plied their trade in the park an didn’t have to trudge miles through traffic behind buses everyday. But this is impossible – is Central Park supposed to set aside the facilities for a stable to house hundreds of horses to be built? Who pays for it? It’s time for this inhumane business to end and this seems the perfect compromise.
I agree, I’m just afraid that they won’;t do anything until some innocent person is injured. Seventh Ave. is no place for a horse, it’s idiotic to suggest that it is.