Besides the tall skyscrapers, the crowds and the Mac Store, 59th street 5th avenue in Manhattan this past summer has had a new addition added. Posters, chants, clipboards and horse costumes. NYCLASS has hit the streets hard this summer to stop the abuse in the horse carriage industry.

NYCLASS, New Yorkers for Clean Livable And Safe Streets, is a nonprofit animal welfare and advocacy group started in 2009 committed to improving the quality of life for residents and animals of New York City.

NYCLASS has been along the west side of central park every Saturday afternoon throughout this summer with over a hundred volunteers to protest, sign petitions and educate people on how unsafe and unhealthy it is for the horses to work on New York’s busy polluted streets, dodging traffic and sleeping in stables that do not allow the horses to rest properly for the next day.

There is an estimate of 220 carriage horses,293 drivers and 68 licensed carriages. The unexpected NYC working horse residents work nine hours a day seven days a week in rain, sunshine, blistering cold and in the scolding heat. Unlike us: when we work an eight or nine hour shift we have breaks in-between. NYCLASS and others have seen the horses work nonstop with no well deserved breaks or rest.

Recently, the public’s eyes were open further. In the past three months, two horse drawn carriage accidents took place injuring the horses, the drivers and the tourists who were on the carriages.

Today, NYCLASS has well over 93,996 supporters and hopes the city will soon pass Intro.86 to ban the horse carriages and replace them with eco-friendly electric cars. Unlike the carriages, the electric vehicles will comply with government safety regulations and will be registered with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. All drivers must obtain driver’s licenses and become licensed tour guides in order to operate the new electric vehicles. Currently, only 50% of the carriage drivers have valid licenses.

The eco-friendly cars will carry liability insurance equivalent to the insurance carried by taxis, black cars, and pedicabs. Horse-drawn carriages are only required to carry $20,000 per carriage in insurance, compared to the $2 million for each pedicab company and the $200,000 for each pedicab. Also, the cars can hold seven passengers at a time, are able to travel up to 10 hours on a single charge, has raised stadium seating, a heating system for the winter months and a convertible top for the spring/summer seasons.

If the transition happens, the horses themselves would be transported to the ASPCA so they can find permanent homes in sanctuaries, farms and private adopters rather than the usual: being sent to slaughter.

But the horse carriage drivers have no smiles on their face when it comes to this alternative, and fear most will lose their jobs.

Allie Feldman, lead organizer of NYCLASS, believes it is more than just the drivers who are afraid they will lose their jobs. She said, “change is scary for these guys, and using cash only they are allowed to charge more for their rides, and with the cars they need to also pay proper taxes, so there is no hiding.”

Indeed the horse carriage industry is a cash only business that also does not use meters. NYCLASS claims on their website that the carriage drivers routinely charge residents and tourists higher rates then what they are requisite. This in turn causes the city to lose revenue and the city already pays hundreds of thousands of dollars to monitor the horses and repair the city streets the carriages damage.

When asked to answer a few questions about the horses and their treatment, several drivers said they wish to not speak. Only one new young female driver, who just started working two months ago, answered some questions. She preferred to be anonymous, but said she was against getting rid of the horses: “I don’t think it would be the same. Would lose business because the children and people love the horses.” She also said she is not aware if the horses receive veterinary care, that only the owner would know. The horses get water every 30 minutes and food three times during the nine hours.

But a lot of bystanders support the movement. On the days the volunteers have protested, many New Yorkers have said to the volunteers they can tell by the horses’ eyes and body language they are not happy.

It is still an ongoing debate and NYCLASS hopes to continue the fight through this coming fall season.

For more information visit www.nyclass.org or www.aspca.org.

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It’s another day at Occupy Wall Street, as the DA (Direct Action) group tackles the issue of police brutality. One member of the group stated that the Municipal Labor Community, which is a bargaining committee that negotiates all municipal contracts together, was going to raise $25,000 for OWS. However, they were unable to, because it was blocked by the police and firemen’s union.

They did not allow them to raise the money, which called for another breakout session to discuss the matter more in depth. The DA’s direction is about finding your allies and becoming more solidarity. During this breakout session, another member proposed discussing a need for expansion whether it is in physical spaces, open spaces or indoor spaces.

He says it’s a big city and he feels like a lot could be done long term. They will be conducting a 4 hour strategy discussion for expansion on Sunday. Following December 6th’s Occupy foreclosed homes day, which will take place in 50 cities across the country is, Occupy Ports on December 12. The occupations in Oakland and Los Angeles have called for a west coast port shutdown. It does not mean to occupy the actual ports one said jokingly, although he said he would have no objection to it.

He claims that it would be the biggest thing to a west coast general strike. According to the New York Occupy movement, if they don’t seize the opportunity to be in solidarity with the other movements, then New York movement will fall behind. People out in the west have really been pushing forth, shutting things down and causing disruption for the 1%, which is what the message for Occupy Ports is about.

The occupiers are growing tired after their victory that took place on their 2 month anniversary of OWS, but New York occupiers will continue to push themselves in order to shut the 1% down. One man from Chile said to another that, “What we did on November 17 was something we did for 7 years” referring to a struggle against dictatorship in Chile, which was said as encouragement to boost morale.

One New York Occupier also suggested that being more proactive was in order, saying that more is necessary of the DA and that New York rather than just being reactive to just working on projects brought to them, they should establish affinity groups that would create major action, having them take it on piece by piece.

More is expected to come from the 99% as they continue to fight against the 1%. To learn more about what is on their agenda visit http://occupywallst.org/

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/skinnylawyer/

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Rage against the politicians and capitalists who have driven the global financial system into the ground is being aired today from one end of the world to the other in a massive coordination of support protests to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Under the banner #GlobalChange, today has seen people from Sydney to Manila, to Rome and London, take to the streets to claim justice in their financial and political system.

In London, UK, up to 300 people gathered in front of St Paul’s Cathedral for the Occupy the London Stock Exchange. Organizers had garnered support through social media sites and were hoping to occupy Paternoster Square in a tribute to the original Occupy movement which is occupying Zuccotti Park in New York City.

The demonstration walked peacefully to the square where they chanted “We are the 99%,” according to Lisa O’Carroll from The Guardian, who was at the scene. The 99% refers to the so-called percentage of society who had to suffer for the profit of the last 1%. The 1% represents the wealthiest people who benefitted, and still do, from the financial crash and bailout of the banks.

Around 2PM GMT, the mood of the protest, which had been conducted fairly cheerful and calm, changed and The Guardian could report that apparently Julian Assange had joined the proceedings in London. The international day of action, October 15, was marked in other cities through marches and gatherings.

In Manila, the Philippines, demonstrators held up outside the U.S. embassy with banners, denouncing “U.S.-led wars and aggression,” according to the Associated Press and Reuters. Hundreds of people gathered in the main street of Auckland, New Zealand, banging drums and chanting against corporate greed.

Around 2000 protesters gathered outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney and a spokesman for OccupyMelbourne.Org told Reuters about the Melbourne event: “I think people want real democracy.” In Tokyo, Japan, the demonstration included anti-nuclear protesters.

Both Greece and Italy also joined in the global rally, with students in Milan opening up early for pandora’s box on Friday, vandalizing Goldman Sachs’ offices and headquarters of the bank UniCredit. In Rome, organizers were expecting the biggest show-up of around 100,000 people.

One participant told Reuters “At the global level, we can’t carry on any more with public debt that wasn’t created by us but by thieving governments, corrupt banks and speculators who don’t give a damn about us.” Back in London, the Metropolitan Police informed the media that they’ve only made one arrest today.

The demonstration failed to occupy Paternoster Square and have moved back to St Paul’s Cathedral. The sudden arrival of the notorious Wikileaks founder brought a bit of grassroots celebrity star power to the event. Mark Townsend of The Guardian said that Assange made his way to the crowd and “began attacking a greedy and corrupt system that had united individuals from Cairo to London.”

He also argued that the movement is about the construction of law and not its destruction. As participants hit the streets in cities around the US, the movement will see the circle completed this October 15. Click here to watch pictures from the events around the world.

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Occupy Wall Street gained some new members on Wednesday as some key significant groups backed their cause. Union workers from Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union joined in, lending some credibility to the movement, which began with some frustrated college students and long-term unemployed individuals.

The liberal group MoveOn.org, and community organizations like the Working Families Party and United NY also showed support and joined Occupy Wall Street. The protests began on September 17 as growing frustration over the state of the economy and spending cuts became too much for some people.

College students flocked to Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan where they have camped out and plan to stay until they see real change. What is being termed the American Autumn is now spreading across the country and enjoying global support. On the west coast, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco are having similar protests.

“We’re really excited that labor is part of the protest,” said Sara Niccoli, spokeswoman for the Labor-Religion Coalition, an Albany, N.Y.-based organization that aims to “do justice” for workers. United NY applied for a permit for the rally on Wednesday so that they could use microphones.

“I think they’re capturing a feel of disempowerment, feeling like nobody is listening to them,” said Camille Rivera, executive director of United NY. “What do you do when no one is listening to you? You speak up, you take action.”

MoveOn.org is planning a “virtual march” on its website by encouraging people to post photos of themselves with the caption: “I’m the 99 percent” – a reference to those people not among the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans and the debate over whether they should be taxed more.

The group’s executive director, Justin Ruben, called the protesters “brave young people” who have successfully inspired others to join them. “From our perspective, we’re protesting kind of the greed that led to the collapse of our economy,” Ruben said. “The fact that these banks aren’t paying their fair share.”

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/matmcdermott/

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