By Bill Parry
Mayor Bill de Blasio has dismissed a union’s call for a state investigation into his campaign to ban horse carriages from city streets. The Transport Workers Union requested a probe by the state attorney general’s office after de Blasio’s plan to rein in the city’s horse carriage industry fell apart last week.
The two sides have clashed before, especially over the mayor’s Vision Zero initiative. Several of TWU members are bus drivers who were arrested following collisions in which pedestrians, who have the right of way, were hit.
“It’s foolish. It’s just foolish,” de Blasio said Monday. “I have disagreements with that union as we are trying to protect the lives of New Yorkers. I think it’s just politics.”
The mayor also vowed to revive his plan to limit horse carriages after the Teamsters union withdrew its support for the deal late last week. The City Council had sufficient votes to pass the legislation , according to the administration, but reversed itself one day before it was set to vote on the deal that would have cut the number of carriage horses from 220 to 95.
The Council tabled the vote because the legislation was predicated on the agreement with the union, according to city officials, however, City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said, “There were a lot of folks who were unsure about this bill and about some of the portions of the bill.”
Union officials said that many of their carriage-driving members believed the agreement would endanger the future of their industry
“The Teamsters’ first priority is always our members and their livelihoods,” George Miranda, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, said. “With the legislation now finalized, our members are not confident that it provides a viable future for their industry. We cannot support the horse carriage bill currently before the City Council.”
The legislation’s collapse is a blow to the mayor, who pledged during his 2013 campaign to eliminate the horse carriages from city streets.
“We negotiated in good faith with the City Council and the Teamsters to reach this agreement,” de Blasio said after the union pulled out. “The terms of the agreement have not changed during these past weeks, but today the Teamsters decided to back away from their fair compromise they had previously endorsed. While we are disappointed this bill will no longer be considered Friday, the people of this city know what I believe, and we will work toward a new path on this issue.”
So it’s back to the drawing board on the mayor’s plan that would have spent $25 million converting a maintenance building inside the park into a new stable, eliminating competition by restricting pedicab operations to the north of Central Park, and removing 40 to 50 horse carriage driver jobs.
That was a concern for many of the carriage drivers, many of whom live here in Queens. Stephen Malone, the industry spokesman is a second-generation carriage driver who was born and raised in Sunnyside.
“We are very happy the Council decided against voting for this legislation,” Malone said. “We’ll continue to move forward for the betterment of our industry and preserve and protect the iconic industry that it has become.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
