Councilmen Oliver Koppell, John Liu, Leroy Comrie, James Gennaro and Charles Barron all individually made their views known on the controversial proposal.
Koppell said that if anything was to be banned from New York’s streets on safety grounds it should be cars and buses, not horses, while Barron declared that he would never vote against jobs.
Meanwhile advocates and supporters of the industry declared themselves happy last Friday after the hearing on Avella’s bill and on the demand for a fare increase.
“The hearing went well,” said Carolyn Daly, a spokesperson for the industry. “The horse carriage industry was well prepared and presented plenty of credible witnesses and experts to confirm that the horses are healthy, well-cared for and safe, and also that the industry is a strong draw for New York City tourism.
“The Department of Health testified that the industry has no health or cruelty violations and is closely monitored and regularly inspected,” she said.
“Avella was only able to get extreme animal groups to testify, but none had any supporting facts or credible information to put forward,” she added, “just the usual lies and manipulations.”
Daly said that Avella’s bill put 400 families through unnecessary trauma. “I’d challenge him to look after a horse for a day,” she said. “That’s not an easy job.”