Carriage horses
Mayor's Public Hearing
After forcing a bill through the City Council to give carriage operators a rate hike, Christine Quinn held a press conference in which she praised her compassion for animals.
New York Magazine
“Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn are staunch allies of the tiny industry.”
NY Daily News
“Actress Anjelica Huston has urged City Councilwoman Christine Quinn to put horse-drawn carriages out to pasture. . . “It’s surprising to me,” Huston wrote in the March 1 missive, “that a city known for its progressive spirit still allows this cruel and dangerous tourist trap.” (Quinn has blocked the legislative efforts to take the horses off the streets).
Huffington Post
“The current speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, has blocked the efforts to take these horses off the streets and out of harm’s way since a bill was introduced to ban the trade in 2007.”
New York Post
Due to her ties to the Queens Democratic machine, Christine Quinn continues to block efforts to take NYC’s carriage horses off the streets of midtown. Bill deBlasio, on the other hand, is taking a stand based on principle, not politics.
OTHER
The NY Megaphone
Quinn blocks Council Member from introducing bill to ban sale of foie gras in NYC: “Councilman Alan Gerson had committed to introducing legislation, but several months have passed without action, disappointing campaigners. Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is planning a mayoral run, has taken an oppositional stance.”
Staten Island Advance
Christine Quinn blocks bill to ban the use of wild animals in NYC circuses and refuses to hold a public hearing: “So far, 23 members of the Council have said they would vote “yes” to the legislation . . . The problem is, Christine Quinn is not among them. As speaker, Ms. Quinn decides when and if a bill is scheduled for vote.”
NYC Humane Scorecard
Christine Quinn “worked to defeat Reso. 497, which requires instruction in the humane care and treatment of animals in elementary schools… The Resolution was killed in the Education Committee because of arm-twisting by Council Speaker Quinn’s office. NYLHV believes that Speaker Quinn opposed Reso. 497 because of political friction with the bill’s sponsor, Council Member Avella, who
forced the bill to receive a hearing against her wishes.”
Pets
NY Times
After pet store fires that killed hundreds of caged animals, Christine Quinn blocked a vote on the bill that would require pet stores to have sprinklers: “The current version has 40 sponsors, a pretty hefty portion of the 51 members of the City Council.”
NYC Humane Scorecard
“The bill has 45 sponsors – more than 90% of the Council. There’s no excuse for Speaker Quinn to continue to stall on this important bill. It’s past time for a hearing a vote.”
Shelter Reform
“As Council Speaker, you derailed a bill to enforce a long-standing State law requiring the teaching of humane education in our public schools. It was reported that you had no principled opposition to the bill. You simply disliked its sponsor.”
Shelter Reform
After pushing two useless bills (tethering and licensing) through the City Council overnight, Quinn boasted about her commitment to animal rights in a letter to constituents. In response, “You have a well-deserved record of being openly hostile or indifferent to our City’s animals, so we find your letter to be particularly puzzling.”
NYC Humane Scorecard
Speaker Christine Quinn has vehemently opposed this legislation (pets in housing), going so far as to break the Council’s own rules to block the bill from getting a hearing. In April 2008, at our request, Council Member Tony Avella, the bill’s sponsor, invoked the “Sponsor’s Privilege” rule. This little-known Council rule allows the sponsor of a bill to force a hearing and vote on their legislation. Quinn broke the rule, refusing a hearing and a vote on Intro 13, effectively killing this bill.”
Capital New York
From an article about how Christine Quinn overturned the law mandating a full service animal shelter in every borough. “City Council Speaker Christine Quinn . . . said the legislation was a response to an animal “emergency” in New York. Not incidentally, the legislation would undo a potentially expensive requirement that the city open up a full-service animal shelter in each borough.”
Quinn's record
NYC Humane Scorecard
“The biggest obstacle to more humane laws in NYC is the inexplicable opposition to animal welfare legislation by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Speaker Quinn has attacked virtually every effort in the Council to make life better for animals, despite claiming in letters to concerned citizens that she cares about animal welfare and even ‘supports animal rights.'”
League of Humane Voters
“The City’s animals have been waiting so patiently for just a few scraps of compassion, and they cannot afford to have Quinn as our next Mayor.”
Timeout NY
“Quinn supported horse-drawn carriages, opposed a proposed ban on foie gras and . . . has refused to schedule a hearing on the long-languishing pets in housing bill, which would protect pet owners from eviction.”
Blinders blog
“On January 18, 2011, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pushed a bill through the City Council that makes it illegal for NYers to tie up their dogs more than 3 hours. On its surface, this law sounds like a godsend for dogs because chaining is unspeakably cruel. But if you scratch the surface, you’ll see why the only one who truly benefits from this new law is Quinn herself.”
Blinders blog
“Christine Quinn, the Speaker of the NYC Council who has blocked every meaningful animal protection bill introduced since 2006, has co-opted one of our own groups, NY-CLASS, to both work against us and build support for her in the animal advocacy community. She’s even provided them with the tools to do it — the newly passed licensing and tethering bills.”
