NYC & the Snow Storm.
NYC got hit with 19" of snow last night and early this morning and it was declared by Mayor Bloomberg to be a "weather emergency." Public schools are closed. Buses are suspended. Only subways below ground were running.
Emergency city agencies were working - such as police, fire, etc. Others apparently were closed.
this is from Mayor Bloomberg's press conference, which is on the city's web site:
"When the snow stopped falling at about 4:00 AM, the official reading in Central Park was 19 inches. This is roughly twice the amount of snow that yesterday's evening National Weather Service forecast told us to expect. And we have now had the snowiest January in New York City history. We have had 36 inches since January 1st, breaking a record last set in 1925.
"The weather emergency that we declared yesterday afternoon remains in effect. Street cleaning and meter regulations will be suspended today and tomorrow. Clearing the streets remains our number one job - and to do that, motorists should please, please refrain from driving.
So while Mayor Bloomberg is wisely asking motorists to stay home so they do not get in the way of street cleaning efforts - the horse carriages were allowed out. From their stables, up to two miles from Central Park, they need to travel over side streets up 10th Avenue and then to the park. On the way back, they should be traveling down 9th Avenue, which is a direct route -- not through Times Square as some do.
One witness said "For a while the horses couldn't get to the water trough at 6th avenue, but at 11:15 a.m. a guy came to shovel it out. I didn't recognise him so I asked if he was with the park but he said he was with the carriage drivers."
Why did the ASPCA allow the horses out today? The ASPCA and the Department of Health refuse to answer our questions. Why does this small industry get to do what they want - who is afraid of whom. Are they really that politically connected?
--
Elizabeth Forel
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
www.banhdc.org
Horses Without Carriages International
www.horseswithoutcarriages.org
