The transit union representing Central Park carriage-horse homeowners and drivers is suing the non-profit main the cost to ban the business, claiming a “pattern of malice” in opposition to its members.
The Transport Staff Union, which represents the roughly 200 homeowners and drivers who function horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, filed go well with in opposition to New Yorkers for Clear Livable and Secure Streets — NYCLASS — in New York Supreme Courtroom Monday, alleging the group knowingly spreads false claims in an effort to construct help for a ban carriage horses.
“NYCLASS has used unlawful means, including, but not limited to, misrepresentation to the public and third parties, and/or acted with the purpose of harming the carriage drivers and their business, under the pretense of animal rights,” the criticism reads.
The union accuses the non-profit of tortious interference for allegedly trying to undercut the carriage-horse business.
In its criticism, the TWU identifies two situations during which the union alleges NYCLASS claimed useless carriage horses had been abused regardless of post-mortem studies discovering they died of pure causes.
The go well with references the demise of a 15-year-old carriage horse named Woman, who collapsed and died on the road in August whereas returning to her steady in Hell’s Kitchen.
NYCLASS responded to the equine demise with rallies exterior Metropolis Corridor, calling on the Metropolis Council to go Ryder’s Regulation, which might successfully wind down the carriage horse business in New York Metropolis. On the rallies and in media interviews, NYCLASS spokespeople mentioned Woman had been labored to demise — a part of what NYCLASS spokeswoman Edita Birnkrant referred to as a “pattern of cruelty.”
TWU officers on the time mentioned Woman died of “natural causes,” struggling an aortic rupture attributable to underlying well being circumstances. A necropsy report ready by Cornell Univeristy’s Animal Well being Diagnostic Heart and connected as an exhibit to the lawsuit states that Woman died from an aortic rupture possible associated to hypertension attributable to a small tumor on the horse’s adrenal gland.
“Despite published confirmation from medical experts that Lady’s death was the result of natural causes, NYCLASS continues to use Lady’s death to repeat its misrepresentations and to unlafully interfere with the horse carriage drivers,” TWU’s go well with reads.
The union goes on to argue that NYCLASS “did the same thing” in 2020, when a horse named Aysha collapsed on the road and was later euthanized. Well being Division information point out the horse was “in good health prior to her death,” the go well with claims, however “[d]espite all of the well-documented information released regarding Aysha, NYCLASS spread and continues to maliciously misrepresent Aysha’s tragic death for its unlawful interference with horse carriage drivers.”
Equally, the go well with claims, NYCLASS has on two events claimed to have purchased retired carriage horses from so-called “slaughter auctions,” when — in line with TWU — a kind of horses was auctioned off as a “riding horse” and the opposite was given on to a steady in Lancaster County, Penn.
“NYCLASS has continuously and maliciously intentionally used falsehoods and misrepresentations to injure and destroy the horse carriage industry and the carriage workers represented by TWU,” the go well with reads.
“This appears to be a desperate attempt by a failing business brought low by its own actions,” Birnkrant mentioned in a press release. “For years, New Yorkers have witnessed horses collapsing and even dying on our streets, spooking and running wild in traffic and in Central Park, crashing into cars and injuring people.”
“From London and Paris to Brussels and Salt Lake City, from Chicago and Toronto to San Antonio, Montreal, Mumbai, Barcelona, and Beijing — cities around the world have already phased out or shut down horse-drawn carriages, and more are continuing to do so every year to protect public safety and animal welfare,” she added.
TWU is searching for damages in extra of $1 million.
