By Gloria Pazmino, Capital New York

In a report released Tuesday, the committee listed traffic accidents and animal welfare concerns as its main reasons for backing the legislation as proposed.

“For years, the Committee has advocated for an outright ban of carriage horse rides due to the dangerous and harsh conditions inherent in operating horse-drawn carriages in congested New York City streets and keeping horses in a crowded urban environment,” the report states. 

Councilman Danny Dromm, a Democrat from Queens, introduced legislation to ban the horses at the end of last year which would phase out the carriages by the end of 2016 and give horse carriage drivers alternative work options such as driving taxis or livery cars, as well as training to place them into different industries.

So far, more than half of the Council’s 51 members remain undecided on the bill. At least 13 members have come out against the ban, and nine are supporting it.

The bill is being co-sponsored by Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the transportation committee, Margaret Chin of Lower Manhattan, Maria del Carmen Arroyo of the Bronx, Mark Levine of Northern Manhattan and Helen Rosenthal of the Upper West Side.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also supports the ban, and has promised the bill will go through the “legislative process” before it goes to the floor for a vote.

You can read the New York City Bar Association report here: http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072858-ReportandSupportofIntro0573-2014ToBanCarriageHorsesinNYC.pdf