Sad puppy. (utterlycute.com)

Some might say it's only puppy love, but councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is counting on a deep reserve of animal love to pass a City Council bill that would create an animal abuse registry—making New York City the largest jurisdiction in the country with such a database.

"It's modeled after the sex offender registry," Mr. Vallone said. "If you're on the registry, you would not be able to adopt or buy a pet in the city. This list would be provided electronically to all animals stores, shelters and law enforcement agencies."

Mr. Vallone introduced the bill—co-sponsored by council members Vincent Gentile and Elizabeth Crowley—to the council this month, saying that he had been inspired after a case last year in Astoria in which "a punk on Steinway Street threw a little dog out the window to its death."

"It really outraged the community and got us to think what we could do," the Queens councilman said.

The proposed bill would mandate that anyone convicted of any form of animal abuse—which could include animal fighting, abandonment, aggravated cruelty and failure to provide proper sustenance—would be on the registry for 5 years following their first offense and for 10 years following any additional convictions. Animal ownership would be prohibited for any individual on the list, a restriction that is often, but not universally, mandated as a condition of probation for those who are convicted of animal abuse.

Like the sex offender registry, the animal abuse registry would rely on self-reporting by individuals who move to New York City, with those who fail to report to the registry, or are found to own an animal despite being on, or eligible for it, facing up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Currently, there are three animal abuse registries in the United States, all of them in New York state, although registries have been proposed in other states and regions. In 2010, Suffolk Country became the first place in the country to create a registry—protect those Hamptons polo ponies! Rockland and Albany counties followed. Two bills that are currently before the state assembly—S. 3804 and A. 1506—are also seeking to create animal abuse registries that would apply to the entire state.

It is unclear how difficult it might be to enforce self-reporting by animal abusers, given that probation periods, particularly for misdemeanor-level offenses, might not stretch to lengths as long as 5 years. Currently, the City Council bill would mandate that animal shelters consult the list before allowing an individual to adopt a pet, but would apply to pet stores—which are regulated by the state—on a volunteer-only basis.

"There's a sense that as with sex offenders, people should be able to identify dangerous individuals in their community," said Lisa Franzetta, the spokeswoman for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which has been a strong supporter of and advocate for animal abuser registries. (It is unclear if the New York City registry would be available to the public at large, or only to animal adoption organizations).

Ms. Franzetta said that animal abuse registries tend to garner broad support when they have been proposed (indeed, those who decry the lack might take some comfort from the fact that regardless of their differences, Democrats and Republicans can find common ground when it comes to a mutual hatred of sex offenders and animal abusers). The only opposition to registries, said Ms. Franzetta, is generally rooted in cost concerns, although estimates for the costs of registries vary widely.

Has Mr. Vallone encountered any opposition in New York?

No, not really, he said. He thought the health department, which would likely be the agency responsible for maintaining the registry, might oppose it on grounds that they didn't have the resources, but they have yet to speak out on the measure.

And, despite the fact that registries might be available to the general public—subjecting convicts who have paid their debt to society to possible prejudice—civil liberties groups have been uncharacteristically quiet about the whole thing. Mr. Vallone said that he'd like any registry to be available to the general public, but realized that it might present legal issues. Like the time he tried to shame subway flashers.

"I asked the MTA to put up pictures of convicted subway flashers in their stations," Mr. Vallone explained. "Their attorneys argued that it would be additional punishment to what they were sentenced to. I disagree. I think there's enough of a government interest in keeping people safe."

The New York ASPCA gave its cautious assent, writing in an email to The Observer that it "supports any legislative initiative that aims to protect animals from abuse and neglect," and that it is "in the process of exploring both the general concept of animal abuse registries and the specifics of this particular bill to determine whether they will indeed provide such enhanced protections."

The Observer also reached out to a number of pet stores.

"Oh, I think that’s wonderful, I love that idea," said Howard Binder, the manager of Pets on Lex, who learned of the bill when we reached him over the phone on Tuesday.

A group of dogs walking through Central Park also barked eagerly when asked, we think in approval.

kvelsey@observer.com

The white Percheron carriage horse that fell/collapsed near Central Park yesterday. (Screenshot from video by Mary Xanthos from Win Animal Rights)

A carriage horse slipped and fell near Central Park yesterday afternoon, raising more accusations from both animal rights groups and the Horse and Carriage Association of New York City.

Around 4 p.m. yesterday on Central Park South and 59th Street, a white carriage horse tripped and fell. While no one was hurt, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), an advocacy group, stated the horse "collapsed" in a press release. The association, in turn, responded in their release that groups like NYCLASS are "making his minor tumble out to be a major incident." 

The association stated that the horse is back at his stall and resting after being inspected by American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). ASPCA said in a statement yesterday that they will be investigating the incident. "At this time, the horse has been suspended pending a veterinary exam and won't return to work until the exam is completed," the statement continued.

While the horse was "determined to be healthy, alert and no worse for his brief moment in the activists’ spotlight," the association will be calling in their private vet, their release said.

However, NYCLASS believes the fall (or collapse?) was another example of why the city is unfit for horses. "During this busy season, horses are worked harder than ever," said Carly Knudson, executive director of NYCLASS.

But the horse association's president Stephen Malone said that horses trip and fall all the time.

“The carriage industry in New York City is such a public institution that a horse can sneeze funny and some activist is in our faces with a camera to post footage to YouTube,” said Mr. Malone in the press release. Mr. Malone implied that advocacy groups like NYCLASS and Win Animal Rights, which posted a video of the incident, are happy about the fall.

"These radical animal rights people just live for moments like this. They’re giddy over it. I see they’ve already copyrighted the video,” said Mr. Malone.

The fall is just another incident in the long war for the city's carriages. Along with several of the city's politicians, NYCLASS is pushing to pass Intro. 86A, a City Council bill that increases restrictions on horse carriages and eventually replace them with “horseless carriages." The association, for their part, has accused the ASPCA of a "glaring" conflict of intrest because of their involvement with NYCLASS activities.

Here's a video of the horse following the fall/collapse (Warning: Video is graphic, and not quite a Monday Morning pick-me-up) :

A horse drawn carriage waits to move outside of Central Park (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The following article has been updated to include a statement from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Ruby looked restless. The brown horse shifted in place, turned around, and occasionally poked her white muzzle between the red bars of her 8 by 10-foot stall on the second floor of the Clinton Park Stables. Her golf ball-sized eyes glistened and she sighed, staring out at us all the while. The Observer reached in and stroked Ruby’s snout between the bars, wondering if the horse had any clue of the battle raging around her.

Since the death of Charlie, a carriage horse that collapsed on 54th Street last month, the struggle for—and against—the City’s horse-drawn carriage industry has grown into an all-out war, with the Horse and Carriage Association of New York now filing formal complaints against some of the industry’s biggest challengers. 

The association's biggest critics include the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets (NYCLASS), which supports phasing out horse-drawn carriages. On Monday, the association filed papers against these two groups with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, the NYC Department of Investigation, and with the Inspector General of the NYC Department of Health.

Carriage Association president Stephen Malone defends his right to mush.

“Enough is enough,” said the association’s president, Stephen Malone, at a press conference at Clinton Park Stables yesterday.

The complaint includes a request for a full investigation into allegations by former ASPCA veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Corey, who said she was told to issue "misleading and unscientific statements" about Charlie's death.

Among objections against NYCLASS tactics, the complaint also asks the Attorney General to investigate what the association feels is a “glaring” conflict of interest.

“Ed Sayres is both the president and CEO of ASPCA, and the co-president of NYCLASS. In addition to subsequent use of facilities, vehicles, resources and personnel, the ASPCA gave NYCLASS $250,000 at the time of NYCLASS’s founding in 2008,” Mr. Malone said in a statement.

Mr. Malone explained that ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division oversees and enforces laws pertaining to the horse carriage industry, as required by its NY State Charter and by NYC Administrative Code.

"In my opinion, the ASPCA is not to be trusted," Mr. Malone said.

At hoof, the fight is whether or not the city is putting stress on the horses who clomp down its streets. The Horse and Carriage association argues these horse would have no future without the industry, and it keeps New Yorkers employed. The animal rights groups counter that that is no excuse, and they point to Charlie for proof. The circumstances of his death and the information—or disinformation—that followed have only emboldened each side.

ASPCA spokeswoman Elizabeth Estroff explained in a statement that the society has no firsthand knowledge of any complaints filed against them and could not comment on the allegations. Ms. Estroff added that the ASPCA has voluntarily performed carriage enforcement for several decades.

“Remaining steadfast to this commitment, our carriage horse enforcement work has been carried out with objectivity and fairness and always within the bounds of applicable law," Ms. Estroff said in the statement. In another statement on Charlie's death and Dr. Corey's allegations, Ms. Estroff  said the ASPCA was "frankly perplexed by Dr. Pamela Corey’s recent statement."

At a NYCLASS event yesterday afternoon, the Observer asked the group's executive director, Carly Marie Knudson, if they were aware of the complaint against ASPCA and NYCLASS.

"We have not received full disclosure on any of that information yet," Ms. Knudson said. Though she explained that information "just came across our desk this morning," Ms. Knudson first answered our question explaining the information NYCLASS has received was likely the "same article" the Observer read.

Back at the stable, after Mr. Malone announced the association's intent to file complaints that day, Demos Demopoulos, an executive officer of Teamsters Local 553, likened the horses to the working class he represents. "That's why they get five weeks vacation, more than I get," he said.

"In essence, this is an attack on working people, the working people of this industry," Mr. Demopoulos said. Teamsters Local 553 represents the drivers, workers, and small businessmen of the Horse and Carriage Association.

City Councilman James Gennaro, who represents the 24th district in Queens, also came to the stables support the association's announcement.

"It just seems patently unfair," Councilman Gennaro said. "If you have an institution whose mission statement is to get rid of an industry, is that really an appropriate entity to be enforcing against the carriage industry?"

Councilman Gennaro sponsored a bill, Local Law 10, requiring carriage horses to have larger stalls, five weeks of vacation per year and blankets in cold and wet weather. The bill, which passed in April 2010, also requires horses to be in the stalls from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m.

"What we wanted to do was codify what was standard practice," said Horse and Carriage Association vice president, Eva Hughes.

But despite these restrictions, animal advocates continue to unite against the industry.

At NYCLASS' event on Monday, more than 50 supporters lined up on the steps of City Hall, chanting "Hay, hay, we say neigh, horses off the streets today." At the rally,  NYCLASS celebrated 55,000 signatures collected on a petition calling for the City Council to pass Intro. 86A, which would eventually replace horse-drawn carriages with "horseless carriages": electric cars with an old-time-y vibe.

The discourse over the issue, over the carriage horses, has always been horses versus jobs, horses versus people," said Patrick Kwan, New York state director for The Human Society of the United States, at the rally. "But we are proving, once and for all, that it doesn't have to be this way."

Ms. Knudson also announced a new goal at the rally.

"Our next goal is 75,000 signatures by New Year's Day," Ms. Knudson said to cheers from the crowd lining the City Hall steps behind her. "I think we got it—maybe we can go for a hundred if we're really lucky!"

As usual, the pro-animal contingent was packing star power. Emmy-award winning actress Kathy Najimy made an appearance at the rally, where she explained she was "deeply saddened" by the carriage horses, in addition to implying all NYC tourists are, ugh, huge.

Actress Kathy Najimy spoke on the steps of City Hall at a New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets rally.

"Beautiful, gorgeous horses are not meant to be in busy, traffic-y streets pulling really heavy passengers and carriages," Ms. Najimy said.

In addition to Ms. Najimy, several politicians have also shown support for the bill, including Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito. In addition to ultimately phasing-out horse-drawn carriages, Intro. 86A would increase working restrictions on when horses are allowed to work, as well as increase medical checks and necropsies. Intro. 86A is set to be heard in January.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio expressed his faith in electric cars.

"I am convinced," Mr. de Blasio said. "We see electric cars being used all over the world now. There's no question we can make this technology work in New York City."

In addition to Mr. de Blasio,Councilwoman Mark-Viverito and 14 other City Council members support Intro. 86A. When asked about his colleagues's support, Councilman Gennaro said most of the Council members behind Intro. 86A all voted for the bill he sponsored in 2010.

"This law, Intro. 86A, did exist back when Local Law 10 was being debated...It was my reform bill versus the car bill," he said. "Pretty much everyone who was supporting the car bill back then ended up voting for my bill."

Two other advocacy groups, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and In Defense of Animals, also announced Monday that they sent a letter to the president of the ASPCA, Mr. Sayres, asking for him to release carriage horse industry accident reports since January 2009.

"Unfortunately, although the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Division performs a  'police type' function, they are not subject to the Freedom of Information Law and are therefore not really accountable to anyone," said the coalition's president, Elizabeth Forel, in a statement.

asanders@observer.com

The inspiration for Ms. Adams’ show? “Everyone always asks how I get my stories, who’s wonderful, who’s the biggest pain in the ass,” she said, “so we thought, ‘Why don’t I just talk for an hour?’” The show will include “some little anecdotes” from Ms. Adams’ decades of celebrity gossip hounding, “maybe a little about Hillary [Clinton], a little about Donald Trump. …” 

Ms. Adams called the show a “maybe, maybe not” scenario. It will depend on how willing guests are to fork over $250, even if it includes a pre-show tour of the apartment, and a post-show Q&A session. “If the world clamors, if everyone comes from all over the world to fly to America to come see me for an hour, who knows, but I’m not necessarily a Broadway name,” Ms. Adams admitted. 

Still, Ms. Adams said the show is “getting bigger than we ever thought it would be.” She anticipates that some of her higher-profile friends will be in the audience: “Barbara Walters, Judge Judy, these are my people!” she said.