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#NYC launches new campaign to outlaw horse-drawn carriages as inhumane

“NYC launches new campaign to outlaw horse-drawn carriages as inhumane”

A new left-right coalition is galloping to accomplish something the previous City Council and mayor failed to do: ban horse carriages, The Post has learned.

A bill is being introduced by conservative Queens Democratic Councilman Robert Holden to replace horse-drawn carriages with electric ones by June 1, 2024.

The legislation would give horse drivers preferences for licenses to operate the new electric carriages and requires that they be paid prevailing or union wages set by the city comptroller.

The sweeteners for the drivers — who are represented by the powerful Transport Workers Union — are aimed at curbing opposition to the controversial ban on the iconic horse carriages that operate in and around Central Park.

Animal rights activists have long argued that using horses to transport tourists on the busy streets of Manhattan is dangerous, abusive and cruel. Industry reps claim the horses are well cared for and accidents are rare.

“Horses are not just here to serve man. Those days are over,” said Holden, a self-described “animal lover.” 

Nine other Council members spanning the ideological spectrum have already signed on to the bill in the 51-member chamber, including socialists Tiffany Caban of Astoria, Queens and Kristen Richardson Jordan of Harlem: Republican Joann Ariola of Queens; Keith Powers, Eric Bottcher and Christopher Marte of Manhattan; and Shahana Hanif, Rita Joseph and Chi Osse of Brooklyn. They’re expected to discuss the measure at a Thursday press conference.

A bill is being introduced by conservative Queens Democratic lawmaker Robert Holden to replace horse-drawn carriages with electric ones by 2024.
A bill is being introduced by conservative Queens Democratic lawmaker Robert Holden to replace horse-drawn carriages with electric ones by 2024.
Paul Martinka

The anti-horse carriage group — New Yorkers for a Clean, Livable and Safe Streets or NYCLASS — intends to spend seven figures on a TV and social media ad campaign to help get the carriage bill ban through the Council and signed by Mayor Eric Adams.

“This campaign is putting innovation over exploitation by replacing 19th Century horse carriages with safe, humane 21st Century electric carriages,” said NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant.

“Unlike horses, electric carriages do not get spooked in busy traffic. Drivers will get more take home pay and benefits. Midtown streets will be safer for all, and animals will no longer be abused or neglected. The year is 2022, not 1822. It’s long overdue for city leaders to transition away from carriage horses and end this obsolete abuse once and for all, as most other large cities have already done. Let’s pass this bill and get it done.”

The carriages would be electric low-speed vehicles that have a maximum speed performance of no more than 25 miles per hour.

In Central Park, the carriages would be limited to speeds of 3 miles per hour, according to the bill.

But tourists said getting a ride on a horse carriage is one of the big draws when visiting the Big Apple.

“When you come to Central Park that’s what you do,” said Steve, 72, an Anderson, Indiana resident. “Tradition.”

He and his wife, Candy, 71, were here celebrating the birthday of their 13-year-old granddaughter, whose birthday wish was to ride in a horse drawn carriage.

Candy admitted she does have concerns about the horses’ welfare, however.

“We’re a little conflicted about it because we don’t really like the way the horses — I mean I’m sure they’re treated fine — but that’s not what they’d like to be doing,” Candy said.

Holden claimed drivers will actually fare better operating electric carriages because they can work more days. Horses carriages rides are barred during heat waves or other inclement weather.

Former mayor Bill De Blasio failed to replace horse carriages with electric carriages during his tenure as mayor.
Former mayor Bill De Blasio failed to replace horse carriages with electric carriages during his tenure as mayor.
Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Wollman Rink NYC

He also said the drivers would get better pay and benefits than they do now.

But veteran horse carriage driver Christina Hansen, 42, said the bill to outlaw horse carriages stinks more than horse manure.

“Would you want to ride around in a golf cart in Central Park? Because that’s what it would be like,” Hanson said Tuesday afternoon as she sat topped in a top hat waiting for tourists to hitch a ride in a carriage with her horse, Oreo.

The Lexington, Kentucky native found her dream job in carriage driving 16 years ago. She moved to New York from Philadelphia to drive carriages a decade ago.

It’s not the same job if her horse Oreo isn’t part of her workday, she said.

“I came here to work with horses. I didn’t come here to drive a golf cart. Neither did any of the other drivers. We do this because we love horses,” Hansen said.

“All these pedicabs, they already have electric motors on them. The people come here for the horses. People love the horses. New Yorkers love the horses. Tourists love horses.

“Only NYCLASS is trying to get rid of the horses,” she said.

The law would give horse drivers preferences for licenses to operate the new electric carriages.
The law would give horse drivers preferences for licenses to operate the new electric carriages.
Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Tony Utano, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100 who represents the carriage drivers, vowed the legislation will never get to the finish line and claimed that real estate interests are behind the bill.

As The Post previously reported, the horse stables are located in the red-hot Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and could fetch a fortune if the properties were put on the market.

“This is about real estate, not horses,” Utano said.

“NYCLASS was founded by developers, and developers would love to put high-rises and hotels where the privately owned stables are located.”

The union leader said he will let all the council members know that the TWU and the labor movement in general oppose the bill, and is upset that it’s even been introduced.

“It’s unfortunate that some Council members who have signed on to this bill have not even bothered to contact the drivers’ union to get labor’s view,” fumed Utano.

He also said the latest effort will also fail because the horse carriage industry is closely regulated — and safe.

“They have failed [in the past to ban horse carriages] because NYC has the strictest carriage regulations in the country. Five city agencies provide oversight and enforcement. Health concerns are investigated by experts.

 He said the horses receive physical exams by horse veterinarians 2 to 4 times a year, get regular dental care and vaccinations, hoof trimming; and new shoes every 4 to 6 weeks.

“They have comfortable and clean stalls, spend their days in the 843-acre park – and get at least five weeks’ vacation on farms every year (many spend several months on farms),” Utano said.

 The union boss also said nobody wants motorized vehicles in Central Park.
“It took many years of hard work to get cars out of Central Park. Nobody – except those with a financial interest – wants motorized vehicles to return,” he said.

Mayor Adams has not been a proponent of a carriage ban.

During last year’s mayor’s race, Adams — who was backed by the pro-horse carriage TWU — opposed a carriage ban and would only say was open to discussing the issue after his Republican opponent, Curtis Sliwa, supported a prohibition.

“We will review the legislation if and when it is introduced,” Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said Tuesday.

The TWU, meanwhile, provided a list of 30 unions and labor groups that support preserving the current jobs of carriage drivers and horse stable workers including the New York City Central Labor Council, the Teamsters, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/ United Food Commercial Workers, and the Communications Workers of America, among others.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed to have horse carriages banned but was rebuffed by the City Council following opposition from the carriage owners and drivers, backed by the labor movement.

De Blasio championed the cause after founders of NYCLASS helped bankroll political attacks aimed at one of his top rivals in the 2013 mayoral race, then-Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

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