City Council member making an attempt to ban horse-drawn carriages

A coalition of Metropolis Council members are making an attempt to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city and swap them with electronic possibilities.

A invoice is being introduced by Queens councilman Robert Holden that — if enacted — would substitute horse-drawn carriages with electric kinds by June 1, 2024, Holden’s business office verified Wednesday.

9 other Council users, from Republicans to democratic socialists, have signed on to the invoice. They consist of Joann Ariola (Queens), Eric Bottcher (Manhattan), Tiffany Caban (Queens), Shahana Hanif (Brooklyn), Kristen Richardson Jordan (Manhattan), Rita Joseph (Brooklyn), Christopher Marte (Manhattan), Chi Osse (Brooklyn) and Keith Powers (Manhattan).

An anti-horse carriage group — New Yorkers for a Thoroughly clean, Livable and Safe and sound Streets (NYCLASS) — reported they will rally with Holden and other elected officers Thursday in support of abolishing horse-drawn carriages.

NYCLASS named horse-drawn carriages “cruel” and “unsafe” in a launch.

“Please stand with us on July 14th to mail a strong message to the media, NYC Council and Mayor that 2022 is the 12 months to end carriage horse abuse and convey NYC into the 21st Century,” the group stated in the launch.

Tony Utano — the president of Transport Personnel Union, which represents horse-carriage drivers in the city — disagreed, stating the five boroughs have “the strictest carriage regulations in the nation.”

“5 city agencies give oversight and enforcement,” Utano claimed in a statement Wednesday. “Wellness issues are investigated by experts.”

Ultano additional that the horses receive actual physical examinations by horse veterinarians at least twice a yr, frequently get new sneakers and hoof teaching, receive holidays, have cleanse stalls and get to “expend their times in the 843-acre park.”

“It took lots of many years of tricky work to get autos out of Central Park. Nobody — other than those with a financial interest — wishes motorized vehicles to return,” Ultano stated.

Banning horse-drawn carriages was a longtime campaign guarantee by Monthly bill de Blasio and he tried several instances to ban the Central Park mainstays.

The difficulty was heavily talked over in the 2013 mayoral race, when de Blasio defeated conservative Joe Lhota, and was addressed by de Blasio a lot of times in the course of his tenure as mayor — like Holden, de Blasio sought to switch horse-drawn carriages with vehicles.

Though de Blasio was not able to ban the carriages, he elevated protections for the horses, avoiding motorists from buying up travellers on Central Park South and running in warm weather.