The fate of the city’s horse-drawn carriages rests with two dozen undecided City Council members after Mayor de Blasio vowed Monday to move forward with his campaign pledge to ban the animals from New York’s streets.
The stage is now set for a potentially epic battle pitting de Blasio and animal-rights activists against carriage horse drivers and the unions supporting them.
No vote on the mayor’s proposal is expected for at least six months, as officials do an environmental impact study, but players on both sides vowed they would prevail.
“I believe we have enough support moving forward that we’re going to pass this legislation,” said Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Queens), who will sponsor the mayor’s proposal. “I’ve spoken with many of my colleagues, and I believe we have the votes.”
Demos Demopoulos, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 553, which represents the 300 carriage drivers, scoffed at Dromm’s prediction.
“Let them bring it on. We have the public support, all the union support, and the Council support,” he said. “I plan to fight for all my members, and we’re going to win that fight.”
De Blasio will need 26 “yes” votes on the 51-member Council to pass his legislation.
According to a Daily News survey, 13 Council members support the ban, and 11 others oppose it. The lobbying battle will focus on the remaining lawmakers — 25 who said they are undecided, and two others who refused to respond to The News’ survey.
A knock-down, drag-out brawl in the Council would be a first for de Blasio: Since he took office Jan. 1, the Council has been a rubber stamp for everything he has wanted.
The bill would abolish the industry by May 31, 2016. As an inducement to the the carriage horse drivers, the legislation would provide job-training and waive nearly all fees to allow them to drive “green” taxis, which can pick up passengers in the outer boroughs and northern Manhattan.
The animal-rights group NYCLASS endorsed de Blasio in the 2013 election and spent $1.3 million attacking his chief Democratic rival for mayor, Christine Quinn, after he sided with their argument that the carriage rides were inhumane.
He proposed to banish the industry on “Day 1” of his administration, but he did not move on his promise until now. Still, it was unclear Monday how far de Blasio would go in twisting arms to round up support for his proposal.
City legislative affairs director Jon Paul Lupo has been leading a behind-the-scenes push with Council members, but no pressure has been applied, a source said.
“The mayor’s folks have been working on this quietly for a month,” another source said.
De Blasio said Monday that the ban would proceed. “We think it’s time to end the horse carriages in this city, and we’re going to act on it,” he said.
Also unclear was how much pressure the city’s powerful labor movement would apply to save the drivers’ jobs. The unions and de Blasio normally are on the same side of policy battles, but not this time.
The Central Labor Council, especially its President Vinnie Alvarez, feel strongly about opposing the ban — but the issue is more important to private-sector unions, such as the Teamsters, than it is to the public sector unions, such as District Council 37, union insiders said.
Alvarez on Monday denounced the ban as “a flawed solution to a nonexistent problem.”
“It is unconscionable that a bill is being introduced to eradicate an iconic industry that not only works hand-in-hand with our city’s tourism and hospitality industries, but also has the overwhelming support of the general public and the labor movement,” Alvarez said. He was referring to polls that show New Yorkers by a 2 to 1 margin oppose a ban.
He added, “Contrary to misinformation being spread by opponents of the horse carriage industry, there is absolutely no record of (animal) abuse. “
Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Queens), who opposes a ban, said, “I don’t sense any particular urgency on the part of the administration to pass this right away. I think [THIS] is a long fight that will be drawn out for many, many months.”
He added, “If the Teamsters go all out and they get their brother and sister unions to go all out, that can be an effective counterbalance on the mayor. If not, then you’ll have members from districts where this is not an issue who will say, ‘I have other priorities than to fight the mayor on carriage horses,'” he said.
Some Council members were seething at de Blasio for forcing them to deal with an issue they consider trivial. “This is his political debt that we are now being forced to repay. We didn’t make this promise, he did … But now he’s putting it on us,” a Council source said.
“This is a no-win situation … If you vote for the ban, you curry favor with the mayor but you make enemies with the Teamsters union. If you vote against the ban, you’ve sided with labor, but the animal rights activists and the administration won’t forget it.”
Another source argued that the large number of undecideds was a “win” for de Blasio: “Anyone who’s undecided at this point is gonna be a ‘yes.’ At that point they just want to be bought off. It’s obviously not an issue they care deeply about.”
With Jennifer Fermino, Greg B. Smith, Lisa Colangelo and Reuven Blau
