THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- Horse-carriage drivers and union leaders rallied near Central Park Friday against Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to eliminate their industry by June 2028.
- Transport Workers Union Local 100 says the proposal jeopardizes jobs and immigrant-owned family businesses without guaranteed financial protection.
- City leaders cite public safety and animal welfare, including the death of an 18-year-old tourist; a City Council vote is scheduled for October 22.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has found himself in an uncomfortable political position.
Organized labor is protesting outside Central Park.
And this time, the workers aren’t demanding higher wages or better benefits from some billionaire corporation.
They’re demanding that the Democratic socialist mayor stop trying to eliminate their jobs.
Horse-carriage drivers, business owners and leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 100 gathered Friday to condemn a proposed ban on New York City’s historic carriage industry.
Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached an agreement earlier this week to phase out the trade by June 2028.
The legislation, known as Romanch’s Law, is scheduled for a council vote October 22.
Drivers argue that the proposed ban would destroy businesses that families have spent years building, many operated by immigrants who came to America seeking economic opportunity.
And they say the city’s promised transition assistance doesn’t come close to guaranteeing that their losses will be covered.
The reaction from TWU Local 100 was anything but diplomatic.
At Friday’s press conference, the union described the proposal as a “devastating ban bill.”
Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp criticized City Council Speaker Menin and warned other unions to pay attention to the treatment carriage workers were receiving.
The union contends that Menin previously supported its concerns, only to help negotiate an agreement that now threatens the industry.
Union representatives also objected to the financial provisions.
Although the proposed legislation includes a workforce transition plan and potential assistance for affected owners and drivers, it does not guarantee that individual workers will receive full compensation for their investments or lost income.
For operators who purchased valuable carriage medallions and equipment, the prospect of losing the right to operate is no small matter.
The city says the phaseout is necessary for safety.
Much of the latest momentum followed the death of Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist who died after being thrown from a horse carriage in Central Park in June.
Animal-welfare advocates have also pressed city officials for years to eliminate horse-drawn carriage operations, arguing that crowded urban streets are inappropriate places for working horses.
The proposed law would provide for retirement of the animals and restrictions intended to prevent their movement into other carriage operations.
Those concerns are serious and deserve consideration.
But carriage drivers say the city’s solution is to eliminate an entire occupation rather than enforce safety standards or pursue less sweeping reforms.
The industry has been part of New York’s streets for more than 160 years.
Operators say the business provides more than 100,000 rides annually and supports hundreds of jobs directly or indirectly.
The precise employment impact is disputed, but the effect on workers whose livelihoods depend on carriage operations is not theoretical.
It’s their income, their equipment and in some cases their family businesses.
And that brings us back to Mamdani.
The mayor has repeatedly emphasized the importance of working-class New Yorkers and the power of organized labor.
Yet one of the city’s most recognizable groups of unionized workers now believes his administration is pushing legislation that would put them out of business.
It’s a political contradiction his supporters will have to explain.
The administration maintains that transition assistance and worker protections are part of the agreement, and supporters believe the city can find alternatives for the affected employees.
Drivers counter that vague promises about retraining won’t replace an established livelihood.
And not everyone wants to abandon the job they’ve spent years learning.
New Yorkers have argued about the carriage industry for decades, and the disagreement isn’t likely to disappear after one City Council vote.
Animal-welfare advocates want the carriages off the streets. Drivers want to keep earning a living. City officials say they can manage the transition.
But the people facing the loss of their businesses are asking for something more concrete than another government plan.
They want to know who will pay the bills when the horses stop pulling.
For a mayor who built his political brand around defending workers, that’s a rather awkward place to find himself.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- TWU Local 100 — Official statement on October 16 carriage-driver demonstration
- amNewYork — Union and carriage workers protest Mamdani-Menin deal
- NY1 — Carriage drivers rally ahead of City Council vote
- ABC7 New York — Workers challenge proposed industry phaseout
- New York Post — Drivers accuse city leaders of abandoning their livelihoods
