Council Member Gennaro explains no vote on horse carriage and COPA

Thank you.

Gennaro.

Mr.

Majority Leader, I wish to speak on my vote.

Of course.

Okay.

Thank you.

So people talking about this 18-month window, truly 14 months, and having been around horses and ridden horses and been like a real equestrian once upon a time.

For more than 60 years and being around this industry for 36 years, I think I have some perspective on what it's going to take for them to get to where they are now and to their new lives, which is why I made the amendment.

Regarding the workers,

Oh, I wish to be associated with the remarks of Councilman Mifarius.

I think she hit the nail right on the head.

You know, we have, the council tried to get this done, tried to work out the worker thing, the medallion thing, you know, the horses thing.

They couldn't get it done, and the reason why they couldn't get it done is because it's impossible.

And the administration is going to find the same thing.

And so we're already kind of warming up to, well, we're going to consider this and we're going to consider that.

So if you own...

horses,

When you retire those horses at age 26, you have to find a place to put that horse.

And you can't put it in a rescue setting because those are for sick horses.

And our horses don't belong there.

Nor can you put it in a sanctuary setting because sanctuary turns working horses into backyard horses.

It's like putting a 20-year-old in a nursing home for life.

And we talk about the cost of this.

You know, the cost that they face now in taking care of the horse is somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000 a year per horse.

And so that's what, and if you have a horse that's going to live another 25 years, not four years like the retired horses, you know, we got a problem.

And the same thing with the medallions.

There's going to be no, okay, I'm going to wrap up here.

So it's tough being in their shoes.

That's why I wanted to give them a little more time to adjust.

Thank you very much.

That's the number in general.

You're a vote council member when you get a chance.

Thank you.

Oh, pardon.

So wrapped up in my own rhetoric.

I'm voting no on 0943A, no on 0905A, and yes on the rest.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member.