Get off your high horse, Councilman!<\/p>\n
Manhattan pol Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who has been championing legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in the Big Apple, is being called out as a hypocrite for previously honoring fashion designer Dennis Basso <\/a>\u2014 known as the \u201cking of fur\u201d and \u201cfurrier to the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnough is enough!\u201d Botcher proclaimed at a recent press conference after a Central Park carriage horse named Lady dropped dead <\/a>on 11th Avenue in Hell\u2019s Kitchen.<\/p>\n Martha Stewart, Dennis Basso, and Eric Bottcher at a proclamation ceremony. Brendon Cook\/BFA.com \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n Manhattan pol Erik Bottcher, a city councilman who has been championing legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in the Big Apple. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cNo more horses suffering on New York City streets,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an outrage that this is happening in our city. How long are we going to look the other way while living beings drag tourist carriages through gridlock Midtown traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n Basso\u2019s high-end store and collections sell fur coats and jackets from a variety of skinned animals and even rodents including sable, lynx, mink, chinchilla, blue fox, racoon, broadtail and shearling. Monica Schipper\/Getty Images<\/p>\n But Dec. 6, 2023, Bottcher wrote a proclamation honoring Basso.<\/p>\n Bottcher personally delivered the proclamation to Basso when he visited the furrier\u2019s <\/a>flagship store on East 57th Street. A photo of the smiling councilman posing with a beaming Basso, who is holding the proclamation, and Martha Stewart appeared in Guild Magazine at the time.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Basso\u2019s high-end store and collections sell fur coats and jackets from a variety of skinned animals and even rodents including sable, lynx, mink, chinchilla, blue fox, racoon, broadtail and shearling.<\/p>\n One of his natural lynx coats with fur is listed at<\/a> $275,000, and a Lynx coat with hood is $250,000.<\/p>\n But Dec. 6, 2023, Bottcher wrote a proclamation honoring Basso. Brendon Cook\/BFA.com \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n Basso has dressed a wide range of famous clients, including President Trump\u2019s first wife Ivana Trump, Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa, Zsa Gabor, Jennifer Lopez, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep and Gabrielle Union. Photo Image Press\/Zuma \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n A Barguzin eyelash sable coat with raccoon is priced at $120,000.<\/p>\n The Post called Basso\u2019s store, and a worker there confirmed it only sells real fur.<\/p>\n Bottcher\u2019s proclamation lauded Basso\u2019s treatment and sale of fur.<\/p>\n \u201cDennis Basso has been one of New York\u2019s most acclaimed fashion designers for the past 40 years, hailed by both private and celebrity clients \u2026 bringing a new perspective to designing fur,\u201d reads the proclamation, obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request with the council. <\/p>\n The Post called Basso\u2019s store, and a worker there confirmed it only sells real fur. Getty Images<\/p>\n Bottcher\u2019s proclamation lauded Basso\u2019s treatment and sale of fur. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Basso pioneered the method of treating fur like a fluid fabric, resulting in lighter and bolder designs,\u201d it says. <\/p>\n \u201cHis work catapulted him into social prominence, setting him up for a successful career in an important industry for this city.\u201d<\/p>\n Basso has dressed a wide range of famous clients, including President Trump\u2019s first wife Ivana Trump, Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa, Zsa Gabor, Jennifer Lopez, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep and Gabrielle Union.<\/p>\n But Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen, who reps horse-carriage operators and opposes a ban on the industry , said Bottcher is a \u201chorse\u2019s ass\u201d and a hypocrite.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfathomable hypocrisy by Erik Bottcher who seemingly has no issue tearing the skin and fur off animals to make fur coats for the rich, yet endlessly spreads lies about the Central Park Carriages,\u201d Samuelsen said in a statement.<\/p>\n Veteran horse-carriage driver Christina Hansen called Bottcher \u201ca hypocrite,\u201d too. James Keivom<\/p>\n \u201cThis reeks of a hidden agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t evident before, Bottcher isn\u2019t a genuine animal rights activist. He\u2019s definitely a horse\u2019s ass though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Veteran horse-carriage driver Christina Hansen called Bottcher \u201ca hypocrite,\u201d too. <\/p>\n Why support the fur industry in his district but not the horse carriage industry that\u2019s been there for decades, she said.<\/p>\n But Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen, who reps horse-carriage operators and opposes a ban on the industry , said Bottcher is a \u201chorse\u2019s ass\u201d and a hypocrite. Luiz Rampelotto\/ZUMA \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n \u201cOur horses aren\u2019t being harvested for their skins,\u201d said Hansen, who is the TWU\u2019s shop steward for horse-carriage riders.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hypocritical. The animal-rights activists who stand behind him at these press conference against horse carriages would throw red paint at him if they knew he supported the fur industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The TWU also said the carriage horses are well-treated and that a preliminary results from the necropsy<\/a> indicated the 15-year-old horse Lady had a small tumor in her adrenal gland that likely caused an aortic rupture.<\/p>\n Bottcher declined Post requests for comment.<\/p>\n Animal-rights groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Friends of Animals have launched anti-fur campaigns targeting the furrier trade, fashion designers and retail stores that peddle the skins. Some fashion designers have dropped fur, and even Basso sells less expensive faux fur for the masses, as well as real fur for the well-to-do.<\/p>\n