Horse carriages are a blight on the city

To the editor:

Thank you for your recent article about the carriage-horse trade in Manhattan. This continuing cruelty is not only known to those who live in other boroughs, but also around the world.  It is an enduring embarrassment to New York City.

There have been numerous accidents and deaths — at least 116 accidents and 28 horse deaths since the late 1980s. Seventy-one percent of New Yorkers want it banned. 

In 2006, I formed the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and backed the first-ever bill to ban horse-drawn carriages sponsored by then Councilman Tony Avella.  It did not pass. Several bills later, the new iteration, Intro 967, still has resistance from many council members, Speaker Adams, and Mayor Adams.  

Why? It’s not a top tourist attraction.

Many council members who don’t support Intro 967 have been endorsed by the Transit Workers Union, which supports the carriage drivers. Job security seems more important than caring about equine suffering. When challenged, some will defensively say they are protecting “good union jobs.”

But such jobs are nonexistent. The union dues some drivers pay are more of a lobbying fee. Carriage owners and non-owners, both drivers, belong to the same local. There are no benefits, vacation and sick days, medical or retirement packages. There is no income when the business is suspended because of the weather.  

The issue is not just the cruelty to these beautiful animals — they do not belong on either the streets of NYC, the most congested city in the world, or Central Park, equally congested.  It’s not doing the drivers any favors by pretending they have a “good union job.” 

It’s unfortunate Eric Dinowitz’s office ignored calls for your article. He obviously doesn’t think his constituents deserve to know why he supports this business.  

But he has been endorsed by the TWU, and that says it all.   

If the NYC Council members endorsed by the TWU really cared about the carriage drivers and not just their own self-interests, they would support Intro 967 because it offers the drivers a workforce development program. 

Elizabeth Forel, President, Coalition
for NYC Animals