Interview by Morgan Pehme, Editor in Chief, City and State

August 2, 2014

Actress Kathy Najimy first came to public consciousness in her multiple-character ’80s Off Broadway cult hit The Kathy & Mo Show. She soon became a familiar comic scene-stealer in films like Sister Act and sitcoms like Veronica’s Closet, King of the Hill, The Big C and, most recently, Veep.

All throughout her career, Najimy has also been a passionate advocate for a wide spectrum of issues, including women’s and girls’ rights, AIDS awareness and animal rights. For her activism, Ms. Magazinehas named Najimy its Woman of the Year, and she has received accolades such as the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center’s Distinguished Achievement award and PETA’s Humanitarian of the Year award, which was presented to her by Paul McCartney. In recent years, Najimy has used her star power to push for a ban of New York City’s horse-drawn carriages. City & StateEditor Morgan Pehme spoke with Najimy about how she got involved with the cause, her thoughts on Liam Neeson’s support of the carriages and whether there is any excuse she would accept from Mayor Bill de Blasio if he fails to follow through on his campaign promise to abolish them.

What: NYCLASS supporters will gather petition signatures in an effort to encourage local Manhattan City Council members Ben Kallos and Dan Gardonick to support legislation to remove horse carriages from New York City streets.

According to the Mayor's office and the ASPCA, NYPD officials suspended horse carriage operations due to high temperatures yesterday at 12:37 pm. During the suspension, carriage driver and industry spokesperson Christina Hansen is seen on the below video operating her horse carriage at 1:54 pm yesterday.

What a momentous week it's been -- great news to report on two urgent matters to stop horse carriages in NYC:

by Craig Fitzgerald, Bold Ride Magazine

You may have caught a bit of the brouhaha from the New York International Auto Show about the Horseless eCarriage, a car commissioned by New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets (NYCLASS) an animal rights advocacy group that wants to ban horse-drawn carriages from New York City streets and parks. The New York Daily News has launched a campaign to save the carriages, and seemingly every publication in New York has taken one side of the debate or the other. But what all the coverage is missing is the story of the car itself.

by Jen Chung, Apr 29, 2014

As the debate rages over whether carriage horses should continue to be a part of life in New York City, the AP reports that a carriage horse driver may have tried to fool city officials into believing an asthmatic 22-year-old horse was only 12 years old and healthy.

By DYLAN BYERS | 4/29/14 5:00 PM EDT

New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman's office phone was shut down on Tuesday after anti-horse carriage activists blitzed him with a relentless stream of phone calls, POLITICO has learned.

Apr. 28, 2014, 4:57 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — More celebrities are choosing sides in the debate over carriage horses in New York City.

By CARI ROMM/ Special to amNewYork April 28, 2014

"Biggest Loser” star Jillian Michaels became the latest celebrity to publicly back Mayor de Blasio’s plan to ban the city’s horse-drawn carriage industry when she led a rally outside City Hall this afternoon.