Speaker Menin on public safety concerns and growing support for ban
Menin cites nearly 70% of New Yorkers supporting a phase-out, references scores of accidents, and frames the issue as both public safety and animal welfare, calling for a civil and respectful hearing.
So that brings us to the pivotal crossroads where we stand today.
As public servants, we must respond to the concerns of our constituents, and we must recognize that the appetite towards banning horse carriages has grown significantly over the past four decades.
New Yorkers have long been concerned about public safety.
With scores of accidents and close calls involving horses, passengers,
Commuters, maintaining large and naturally skittish animals in our chaotic city is a dangerous combination.
And sadly, with Ramach's death, we have now reached a turning point.
We have also become a city that is overwhelmingly supportive of the humane treatment of animals.
And there have been many incidents involving horses collapsing in the hot, congested environment of our streets.
Accordingly, nearly 70% of New Yorkers are supportive of phasing out this practice.
And we want to be clear, the Council's focus is on ending this tradition while protecting the workers whose livelihoods depend on it, and we will ensure strong worker protections in this bill.
We can and we should have this conversation today with respect and with empathy, no matter where we stand on this issue.
I hope and I know that this hearing will maintain a tone of somberness, of sensitivity, and civility for everyone who has come here today.
I'm looking forward to hearing from the administration, from the industry, from advocates, and most of all, from Ramach's family.
I'm also so incredibly sorry, as I said from the beginning, for your loss.