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FBI Probe Links Animal Rights Threat to NYC Horse Carriage Issue

During his mayoral campaign, Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to remove the iconic horse-drawn carriages from the city’s streets. The FBI is currently examining that pledge as it relates to contributions to an animal rights group, NYCLASS, and threats made to de Blasio’s chief rival in that mayoral race.  Candidate de Blasio made his pledge to ban the horse carriages in March, 2013. The Daily News has disclosed that a political consultant for NYCLASS threatened to undermine Quinn’s campaign if she didn’t back the carriage horse ban. In April, Quinn, who was leading de Blasio in the polls at the time, refused to back the ban. That same April, two NYCLASS officials gave $200,000 to a PAC formed by their political consultant to carry out the “Anybody But Quinn” campaign. Records show that NYCLASS gave $225,000 to the anti-Quinn campaign in the months of May and June. Records also show that two of de Blasio’s top financial supporters gave $225,000 to NYCLASS. The FBI also appears interested in a $175,000 contribution to NYCLASS given by a union connected to de Blasio’s cousin, labor leader John Wilhelm. The attacks against Quinn—fueled by large contributions made by NYCLASS to the “Anybody But Quinn” campaign—began in April. The ad blitz attacked her candidacy with TV ads, robocalls, and mailings. By late June, Quinn had fallen to third place in the Democratic primary. De Blasio won the primary and later the mayoral election. Click for more details in Greg Smith’s New York Daily News article. Posted April 26, 2014
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Opposition to NYC Horse Carriage Ban Is Building

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pledge to take the city’s iconic horse-drawn carriages off the streets is facing increased opposition, according to the Associated Press. Recent support for the horse carriages from many quarters has changed the mayor’s timetable on his ban promise from immediate to year-end. Actor Liam Neeson, in a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times, wrote that the carriage horses appear happy and well cared for. “It has been my experience, always, that horses much like humans are at their happiest and healthiest when working,” Neeson wrote. His comments earned him the attentions of a gang of animal rights protesters outside his home. Also, some city unions—usually on the Mayor’s side—broke with him on the subject, fearing tourism losses. Two thirds of city residents are in favor of keeping  the horse carriages, at least in Central Park, according to recent poll. And last week, the city’s print media—New York Times, Daily News, New Yorker—came out in sympathy for the horse-drawn carriages. “Let the horses and carriages alone,” said the Times in an editorial. Click for more details in Jonathan Lemire’s AP article. Posted April 25, 2014
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