For Immediate Release: Contact:  Elizabeth Forel / Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages 917-628-9121  or  elizforel@gmail.com      VICTIM OF CARRIAGE DRIVER ATTACK WANTS HIS DAY IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION         New York, NY - September 16, 2012  - Andrew Grossberg lives in Los Angeles.    On August 25 th , while visiting New York City, he got into an argument with a carriage driver and ended up in the hospital.    Finally feeling a little better after being medicated with heavy narcotic painkillers and spending the past few weeks resting or seeing doctors, he wants his story to come out.     Mr. Grossberg (his photos below) recently contacted the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages.    He freely admits to having remarked    to the driver that he did not like the horse carriage trade and attempted to take a photo of the license plate after the driver heckled and yelled at him and his friend.     Grossberg  says “The next thing I knew is I was being beaten severely and I could not even stand up to escape from the brutal beating of a deranged horse     and carriage driver. Left for dead on the sidewalk outside of Central Park, I woke up in New York Presbyterian emergency room with a     fractured nose (broken in two places), a concussion, a heavy bruise to     my jaw, and pain radiating all over my body.”   Continues Grossberg     “ Malone of the Horse and Carriage Association has taken it upon himself to say that I was the aggressor in that night's incident.    However, if I was, why was the horse and carriage driver arrested and    I was not? Why was I hospitalized and he was not? I ask you to look at    the emergency room photos and ask yourself and decide who the aggressor was.” On August 21 st , just a few days before the attack, this same driver –  Emin Karsavuran  – reacted in an extremely hostile manner to a member of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages as they were holding a peaceful educational event that evening.    One of the activists said something that enraged the driver and he came running up to him ready to pounce.    Fortunately he did not.  Photos and video are available.    Said Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages  “This is an industry that has enjoyed entitlements and as a consequence is out of control.    They often get away with violating the law because no one in authority is watching or caring.    From overloading their carriages, to working when it is past 90 degrees, in heavy rain or snow, to overcharging, to making illegal u-turns, to not attending their horses - these violations have been captured on videotape and uploaded to YouTube.    Many have been sent to the authorities who ignore them.