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New York City Council
Prohibiting the operation of horse drawn cabs and establishing a horse drawn cab industry transition plan, and to repeal multiple sections of the administrative code of the city of New York, relating to carriage horses and horse drawn cabs
Read summaries and jump into the video at the segment start.
Council staff welcomes attendees to the Committee on Health vote, asks everyone to silence electronic devices, and instructs the public not to approach the front desk. The chair is then invited to begin.
Council Member Lynn Schulman identifies herself as Health Committee chair and welcomes attending members. She announces the committee is voting on proposed Intro 943-A, sponsored by Council Member Christopher Marte, to prohibit horse-drawn cabs and create an industry transition plan.
Schulman acknowledges the vote may be emotional and insists proceedings remain civil and respectful. She limits council member remarks to three minutes, bars public testimony, and requires members of the public to remain silent.
Schulman explains that Intro 943-A would prohibit new horse carriage operator licenses after June 1, 2028, and ban horse-drawn cab operation after that date. It also requires humane disposition of carriage horses and bars their sale or transfer for slaughter or another horse-drawn cab business.
Schulman says the bill requires the mayor to publish and implement a horse-drawn cab industry transition plan by April 1, 2027. She notes the Council will work with the administration and stakeholders, and cites months of input and a nine-hour July hearing.
Schulman calls the death of Ramanj Mahajan a preventable tragedy that demands action. She says the legislation balances public safety, horse welfare, and the well-being of workers and owners, and charts a fair transition.
Schulman thanks committee staff Christopher Pepe, Joshua Newman, Elizabeth Artz, and Valeria Lazario-Rodriguez, as well as her own team. She also thanks the Speaker and Council Member Marte for their leadership on the bill.
Schulman repeats that this is a government proceeding, council members have three minutes to speak, no public testimony will be accepted, and the public must remain silent. She then turns the floor to Council Member Marte for a brief statement.
Council Member Christopher Marte notes the ASPCA was founded 160 years ago to address horse carriage conditions. He compares the carriage industry to milkmen, asbestos, lead paint, and pet store sales, arguing New York has thrived by evolving with the times.
Marte cites polls, social media comments, and constituent calls showing New Yorkers want to move past the horse carriage industry. He argues Central Park can remain a destination without legalized animal cruelty that puts the public at risk.
Marte says the issue is not new and that decades of accidents, dead horses, and injured people produced only promises. He says inaction led to Romash Mahajan's death and calls the bill an opportunity to ensure Mahajan did not die in vain.
Marte thanks Speaker Menon for leadership, the Mahajan family for their strength, and Chair Schulman for taking a bold step. He also thanks Council staff, his own staff, Night Class, and advocates who fought for decades to end the industry.
Schulman thanks Marte for his statement and announces she will turn the meeting over to the clerk to call the roll. The clerk then begins the roll call vote on proposed Intro 943-A.
Committee Clerk William Martin calls the roll for the Committee on Health on proposed Intro 943-A. Chair Schulman votes aye.
Council Member Carmen De La Rosa asks to explain her vote and says after decades of discussion it is time for legislative action. She votes in favor but insists the phase-out include a responsible transition plan for workers, including sanctuary retirement, medallion buybacks, upskilling, and addressing worker-identified gaps.
Council Member Christopher Marte, the bill's sponsor, proudly votes aye on Intro 943-A.
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse asks to explain her vote and says the city has debated horse-drawn carriages for years. She votes in favor, citing the Mahajan family's plea, but promises to hold the city accountable for a transition plan covering jobs, compensation, and horse care.
After Felder is called, Council Member Harvey Epstein asks to explain his vote. He thanks Chair Schulman, the Speaker, Council Member Marte, and Night Class, and says the city can care about horses and jobs while transitioning the industry; he votes in the affirmative.
Council Member Carl Wilson asks to explain his vote and thanks Council Member Marte, Chair Schulman, the Speaker, and advocates. He votes aye in memory of Ramach.
Council Member Joann Ariola asks to explain her vote and says she advocates for animals but also for workers and small businesses. She votes nay because there is no real plan in place and the mayor is left to study the transition while workers need money to feed their families.
Council Member James Gennaro asks whether anyone is left to vote after him and says he was going to pass because he was still writing. He asks to speak on his vote, and the chair grants permission and restarts the clock.
Gennaro says the ASPCA used to be a good organization but made an illegal contribution to help start NYClass, which he calls corrupt and beholden to Steve Nislick. He notes no member of the horse carriage industry has ever been convicted of animal cruelty in 168 years.
Gennaro says elections have been decided by this issue and cites Chris Quinn's mayoral campaign, claiming NYClass threatened to crush her campaign if she did not support banning the industry. He argues NYClass can determine winners and losers in city elections.
Gennaro argues Romash Mahajan was not a victim of the carriage industry and points to the lawsuit, saying the industry is not named despite having robust insurance. He suggests the Mahajan attorneys would have named the industry if they saw liability.
Gennaro calls the 'win-win' and 'free the horses' claims misleading, arguing sanctuaries would put working horses in a nursing home. He rejects the bill, the process, and everything about it, and votes no.
After Chair Schulman thanks Gennaro, the clerk announces the vote: six in the affirmative, three in the negative, no abstentions. The item is approved by the committee.
The clerk notes that is a full committee, and Chair Schulman thanks everyone. She associates herself with Council Members De La Rosa and Narcisse on ensuring workers and horses are cared for, then closes the vote.