[thedrafthorse]

And that differs from many political contributions... how, exactly?

It's that Nislick is leveraging the money, membership and resources of NY-CLASS to influence politics (and elections). NY-CLASS is a lobbying group of the ASPCA, who has used their donations to fund fraudulent and misleading advertising (if you will) about the carriage industry to get signatures on a petition. Now, Nislick is using those signatures as "voters" to push around politicians, and "scare" them with protesters.

The BIG difference is that the ASPCA and NYCLASS are lying about the carriage horses to get the supporters that they're using to get political support... And THAT is what's corrupt.

[michaleenflynn]

Curious though about the comment that he is motivated to shut down the industry in order to get access to the stable properties-- does he have some kind of direct contractual link to those properties, so if the stables are closed he is definitely the beneficiary? Or is it just more like he's in the real estate biz so it stands to reason that he could possibly get some of the action?

Thanx for the input and the question, HH.
The far westside of Manhattan, where the stables are, are being called the 'last frontier' in NYC real estate. Nislick already owns properties there. The specific area where the 37th and 38th St stables are, near the Javits Convention Center and the old railroad yards, happens to be the area where this a huge project going on, the Hudson Yards http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/hyards/hymain.shtml Many believe that it is not the actual stable properties themselves (which are small) that NYCLASS is interested in, but in the larger parcel that they are a part of. Also, in that clearing the way by targeting the carriage stables in an ostensible noble cause, NYCLASS garners political favor and access for the future re-zoning and development projects themselves.

When I attended the ASPCA/NYCLASS "Cruelty Summit" in Wellington last year, I approached Ed Sayres, CEO of the ASPCA and co-founder of NYCLASS, and said, "You know that this is not about the horses -- it's about money, power, and control of those properties." Ed Sayres said to me, and I quote: "Well, someone is gonna get those properties when we put you out of business, why not him [Nislick]?"

[michaleenflynn]

...btw, these are just some of the real estate people who have signed on with NYCLASS:


Phil Aarons, Founding Partner, Millennium Partners
Mitch Baron, Director, Real Estate Group-Goulston & Storrs
John Cefaly, Vice Chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
Michael Field, Partner, Washington Square Properties, LLC
Michael Lefkowitz, Principal, Caribbean Property Services, LLC
Samuel Lewis, President & CEO, Goodstein Management, Inc.
Mario Palumbo, Partner, Millennium Partners
Paul Travis, Partner, Washington Square Properties, LLC

[TheBarnRules]

When I attended the ASPCA/NYCLASS "Cruelty Summit" in Wellington last year, I approached Ed Sayres, CEO of the ASPCA and co-founder of NYCLASS, and said, "You know that this is not about the horses -- it's about money, power, and control of those properties." Ed Sayres said to me, and I quote: "Well, someone is gonna get those properties when we put you out of business, why not him [Nislick]?"

Oh. My. God.

[michaleenflynn]

Oh. My. God.

The thing is, I had been recording the panel as they discussed the carriages with my Flip, and then instinctively turned it off as I approached Sayres privately. I was pretty nervous - hell, I was shaking - so I've finally come to give myself some slack for not keeping it on, but later on that night, omg, I wanted to punch myself in the face for not getting it on tape lol