By Tom Momberg
Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly pushed legislation in the City Council that would ban the horse carriage industry in the city as it exists today, but now has called on advocates to get the measure passed rather than fighting good fight himself.
Many of the drivers who live in Bayside and Sunnyside are watching the developments in this highly polarized struggle.
The mayor made it a campaign promise to ban the industry when seeking office, and though he still supports the bill and tried to take it up when the City Council passed the budget, the measure remains in the Council’s Transportation Committee, where it is pending an environmental review.
Supporters of the bill believe horse carriages are inhumane and do not belong on crowded Manhattan streets, but members of the committee said negotiations over the details of the bill would follow after the environmental study is complete.
De Blasio signaled a shift in stewardship over the ban during an interview on WNYC’s “Brian Lehrer Show” last week, passing the torch to the animal rights groups who have been pressing him on shutting down the industry.
“I think ultimately you are going to see an end to the horse carriage industry in this city, but we have to do this through the City Council where there’s a wide range of views, and what I’d say to every advocate is you already have my vote,” de Blasio said. “Go get the votes in the City Council and solidify the support of the City Council so we can make this change.”
Many City Council members remain undecided on whether they support the ban. Critics of the ban contend the horses are well cared for in a highly regulated industry
and hundreds of jobs would be at stake.
Some observers interpreted the mayor’s interview with Brian Lehrer as indicating he would be unwilling to use his political clout to sway the Council votes.
Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) is the lead sponsor of the bill. He was on vacation and could not be reached for comment, but shortly after the de Blasio’s interview, on, he told The New York Times he was confused by the mayor’s shift.
“I don’t understand why the mayor made the comments that he made this morning,” Dromm told the Times. “It’s something I believe in deeply. As far as I know, the mayor believes in it deeply as well.”
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) is the bill’s other key sponsor and chairs the Transportation Committee. He said he does not believe the mayor’s comments indicate he is backing away from his commitment to ban horse and that compromise will have to be reached in order to gain the support of more Council members.
“When this industry was created, there wasn’t the traffic or the number of trucks there are now. It is dangerous, and there are alternative vehicles for the industry to use,” Rodriguez said. “I am confident we will get this ban passed, but it is also my responsibility to create a mechanism in which every voice is heard.”
The environmental study, which was due to come out in June and has not yet been released, may affect the language in the mayor’s horse carriage bill. An aide in the mayor’s office said the study is still expected to be released by the end of the summer.
But NYCLASS, one of the animal rights groups that have been behind the push for the bill, said the bill has the support it needs as is.
“We are prepared for the bill to be voted on immediately as we believe we would be successful,” NYCLASS said in a statement.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
