Mayor Zohran Mamdani: NYC's 'Horse Carriage Industry Is Coming to an End'

Horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City will soon be a thing of the past, leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) said Tuesday. In a social media post, the mayor wrote, “The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City. Our administration will make sure workers and owners are protected and the horses are safe.” Social media users were quick to share their thoughts in replies to the mayor, one person writing, “Fine. Send them on down here to South Carolina.” Another user said: OR you can keep tradition in place and adopt what Charleston, South Carolina has adopted: -Horses work limited daily hours (averaging 5 hours of work within a max 8-hour window) and receive 19 weeks per year grazing on a farm. -Heat & Rest Protocols: Tours are legally halted when temperatures reach 95°F or a heat index of 110°F. Handlers log individual body temperatures for each animal before and after shifts. There is a happy medium. Someone else replied. “What are you protecting the workers and the owners from? It doesn’t sound like you want to protect them from unemployment.” His announcement came amid concerns over animal welfare and the death of a young man in June after he was thrown from one of the carriages when the horse was spooked and bolted, as Breitbart News reported at the time. The man was identified as Romanch Mahajan, who was visiting the city from India when the tragedy happened. His family has since been asking the city to ban the rides, according to the Associated Press (AP). The article continued: For decades, animal welfare activists and other critics have decried the carriage industry, arguing horses shouldn’t be hauling tourists around busy streets and Central Park while having to navigate bustling traffic and gawking passersby. In the past, horses have collapsed, gotten startled and run off, hitting cars or other objects, with each accident resulting in fresh calls for a ban. A city official told reporters this week that a deal had been reached to end the carriage rides, per ABC 7. The outlet noted Mamdani was working toward worker protections in the bill, which will be voted on next week. “The legislation includes provisions intended to help carriage owners transition out of the industry,” the report said. However, one carriage driver told the New York Post she felt forgotten after officials made the deal. “I feel pretty betrayed. We were told the bill would get amended to actually do something for us drivers and horses. It was not,” said Jill Adamski. “I’m concerned. I don’t know how I will possibly earn enough money to care for my horses. I developed a bond with them, so they don’t want to be separated from me.”