
I haven't been to New York City in many years, but I remember as a youngster taking regular trips with my parents. They trained to be a doctor and nurse there and always loved to take a weekend trip back to show us the sights and attend a play or two. One of the things I remember most fondly on a crisp late autumn evening was the joy of a carriage ride through Central Park. The sight and sound of the horse breathing as he carried us around the beautiful park which was decked out for Christmas was wonderful.
But, alas, a move is apparently soon underway to remove this prime sightseeing venue from the Big Apple. It seems that the new mayor, Bill deBlasio plans to do away with the carriage rides because he claims that the treatment that the horses receive is cruel and inhumane. He has surrounded himself with some "greenies" who are rallying to this cause. Really? These horses are sound, well fed, show no signs of physical abuse and live in a barn that some people would be lucky to have as a home. They work a regular day of nine hours and get plenty of time to rest and relax. So really, Mayor deBlasio, what's the real story?
Well, yesterday the truth came out. It seems that deBlasio's biggest political ally and financial supporter, the prime mover in this "green push", wants the land where the barn is located for a real estate deal. So the new mayor, who tries to parlay his political jargon into a "for the people" populist appeal is just showing himself to be another politician being manipulated for money by a big money supporter, the very people he says he won't support. I mean this guy seems dedicated to wealth redistribution and high taxes on the rich in a way that might even make President Obama cringe. And once again, we find a Progressive who tells the people one thing but in his personal life lives in an opposite manner.
I hope the good people of New York wise up quickly or they will find their city crumbling to the degree that it will make the 1970s disaster under David Dinkins look like a Sunday school picnic. And when you wise up New York, how about demanding that this socialist tool of a mayor leave the carriage horses and their travels alone. Don't let your traditions die. Keep them as they are, a wonderful symbol of your city that has been a point of pride and joy for many generations. What do you say? As the song says, "It's up to you, New York, New York".