Fate of Horse-Drawn Carriages in Balance

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

A fight over the fate of the city’s horse-drawn carriages, an enduring symbol of old New York, is descending on City Hall, with dueling bills bound for the City Council.

A council member who represents parts of Queens, Tony Avella, said he wants to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city, while another council member of Queens, James Gennaro, said he wants to keep the industry alive by raising the rates drivers charge passengers.

He also is calling for a fixed number of horse, stable, and carriage inspections each year.

There are 220 licensed carriage horses, 293 certified drivers, and 68 licensed carriages in the city, according to the Horse and Carriage Association of New York, and carriage drivers, who haven’t seen their fares increase since 1989, say they need a rate hike to stay competitive.

Mr. Avella and his supporters say horse-drawn carriages should have left the city long ago.

Following an incident in which a spooked carriage horse died in September after running into a tree, animal rights activists began calling more vigorously for an end to the industry.

Mr. Avella said he plans to introduce his bill to ban the carriages next month.

An earlier proposal by Mr. Avella to restrict horse-drawn carriages to Central Park and the streets immediately around it stalled in City Hall, but he said he is optimistic he’ll have better luck with the idea. “There have been more accidents, more horses have died, more horses have been put to sleep,” he said. “This situation has to end.”

Mr. Gennaro’s bill, which was introduced yesterday, would raise the rates drivers can charge passengers to $54 for the first 30 minutes of a ride from $34, according to a draft version of the bill.

A spokeswoman for the horse and carriage association, which supports Mr. Gennaro’s bills, Carolyn Daly, said people protesting the industry “aren’t activists, they are extremists.”

“This is an industry that lives under a microscope,” she said.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use