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*****THIS ALERT IS NO LONGER ACTIVE***** DO NOT SEND THIS ALERT! When a second Hansom Cabs horse crashed into a Central Park bicyclist on April 28, 2006 the animal seemed to tell us: "We're not cut out to haul carriages through streets clogged with bikers, walkers, cars, taxis, busses and emergency vehicles. We get spooked�and someone gets hurt." This particular young horse slammed into Lawrence McKittrick, throwing the 71-year-old from his bike toward 64th St. and Central Drive. McKittrick went to New York Weill Cornell Medical Center with a broken hip. Driver Santana Altarico wound up at Roosevelt Hospital with an injured knee. This incident follows a January 2, 2006 collision between a Hansom Cabs horse, Spotty, and a station wagon at 50th Street and Ninth Avenue. When Spotty hit the car at full gallop, his hind legs twisted over the roof and his head smashed into the street. Spotty is dead. Hansom driver Carmelo Vargas sustained critical injuries that left him in a coma. A father and son inside a station wagon were injured as well. One might chalk the string of accidents up to a bad year for Hansom Cabs � but that would overlook obvious threats to public safety. Horse drawn carriages belong to a bygone era. They pose a risk to drivers, bikers and pedestrians. They obstruct the flow of emergency vehicles. Please count me among the many tourists and residents who support a ban on horse-drawn carriages. I respectfully ask Mayor Bloomberg to assert his influence and authority to prohibit horse-pulled cabs in New York City. I encourage City Council Members to advocate a ban on horse-drawn carriages in NYC. Limiting them to Central Park is not a viable solution, since accidents tend to take place in the park and nearby streets. A horse should not be forced to lug a bulky cab on unyielding pavement in extreme heat or cold. NYC carriage horses � who endure fatigue, dehydration, chronic hoof conditions, and lameness � work an average four (or less) years, compared to police horses on active duty for about 14 years. For these horses, there is no reprieve from the daily exhaust fumes that lead to respiratory ailments. Carriage horses are denied soft pastures to graze and mingle as a herd. Instead, they are isolated in cramped stables with barely enough room to move. Moreover, the 21 ASPCA agents handling city- and state-wide cruelty issues cannot adequately uphold animal welfare law. With 68 carriages, 360 drivers, and more than 200 horses, there are simply not enough humane agents to verify compliance with the law. While the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement program covers carriage horses, the NYC Police Department, the Department of Health, and the Department of Consumers Affairs are also responsible. Section 17-331 of the NYC Administrative Code, The Rental Horse Licensing and Protection Law, specifies an Advisory Board to counsel the DoH commissioner on policies needed to foster the health, safety and well-being of horses. Currently, no such Advisory Board exists. Please enact a comprehensive ban on horse-drawn carriages in the City of New York. Relegating them to the confines of Central Park does not resolve cruelty or safety issues. Thank you,

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