NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A rally was held in City Hall Park on Thursday afternoon to advocate for Ryder’s Law, a proposition that calls for the end to the horse-drawn carriage industry in New York City.
The rally was organized by PETA, NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets) and New York City councilmembers Robert Holden and Ari Kagan.
“We’re going to stop really abusing horses, which is happening now for decades in New York City,” Holden told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880.
The rally’s goals included highlighting the inhuman conditions horses face and calling for a prompt hearing and immediate passing of Ryder’s Law, which was named after an emaciated carriage horse.
Ryder brought greater attention to the horse-drawn carriage industry when he collapsed while performing his duties in August 2022. Ryder passed a few months later on Oct. 17.
Kagan made a post on X Thursday committing his support to Ryder's Law and his goal to "end animal abuse & replace horses in and around Central Park w/electric carriages."
A response to this post gave Kagan space to note that electric carriages will "create good paying jobs and [prevent] future tragedies like what happened to Ryder."
Christina Hansen, a carriage driver who serves as the rider’s TWU union rep, disagrees with the premise that the horses in the horse-drawn carriage industry are abused.
“We have 200 licensed carriage horses who, like any living being, sometimes get sick, sometimes have accidents,” Hansen told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “But our horses are better cared for than most other horses in this country because we’re protected by the laws of the city of New York.”
The solution being proposed is to replace the horse-drawn carriages with electric carriages, which advocates like Holden argue would be even better for jobs, wages and working conditions.
“The electric horse carriages would be just as charming as the current horse carriage,” Holden said. “It’s a win-win for everyone involved, in fact, the drivers would make more money.”
Hansen disagrees. If the industry is flooded with electric carriages, “There’s about 150 carriage drivers … who would be affected and we would be put out of business,” she said.