By Kelsey Durham
A recent poll produced by Quinnipiac University revealed that the majority of about 1,200 New Yorkers who were surveyed are in favor of keeping horse-drawn carriages in Central Park despite opposition from Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city and state lawmakers pushing to ban the industry.
Results released March 19 show that 64 percent of the 1,234 people polled support the industry, saying they do not think de Blasio should ban the industry with only 24 percent agreeing that he should. The university placed a margin of error on the poll of about 2.8 percentage points.
The latest results reveal a slight increase in the support for the industry since January, when a Quinnipiac poll asking the same question found that 61 percent of voters did not believe de Blasio should ban the practice.
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who has been one of the city’s strongest advocates for ending the industry he contends is outdated and inhumane, said he does not think the results from the Quinnipiac poll will derail his fight to put an end to horse carriages in New York City.
“This poll is the only one I’ve seen in the past five years that shows that New Yorkers support carriages,” Avella said. “Every other poll I’ve seen shows the reverse, so I don’t really trust it.”
Avella referred to a recent survey conducted by Crain’s New York Business division that showed overwhelming support for legislation that would ban the century-old horse carriage industry. The poll was posted to Crain’s website March 11, and by March 25 more than 37,000 people had already voted, with 76 percent saying they believe de Blasio is right to try to dismantle the industry.
“I’m just concerned that the industry is going all out to try and make it seem like they have all this support when they really don’t,” Avella said. “We would like to sit down and have a real discussion with the owners because nobody wants the workers to lose their jobs.”
One alternative that has been suggested by de Blasio and other officials pushing for the ban is to replace horse carriages with electric cars, but Avella said he does not see that as a realistic solution because of the cost involved. He said a more plausible alternative is to replace horses with battery-powered cars that cost around $23,000 each.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani also joined the discussion after speaking out against de Blasio’s proposed ban during a television interview on “Good Day New York” earlier this week.
Giuliani said he believes horses that are bred to work will not be healthy without the opportunity to do so, even saying they could die if put out on a farm like legislation has suggested if the industry were to end.
The former mayor said that if horses that are meant to work are stopped from working, it could cause depression in the animals.
“The horses are happy as far as you can tell,” he said.
Avella said he has written to de Blasio in hopes of moving forward with eliminating the industry and said the mayor has agreed to meet with him soon to discuss how to proceed.
“I’m sure there are people willing to help with the cost of this, but the owners need to be willing to sit down and talk,” he said. “They need to acknowledge that at some point this industry is going to end.”
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
