Source: Politics<\/p>\n
GOODBYE HORSES: New York City isn\u2019t horsing around anymore.<\/p>\n
The City Council voted overwhelmingly today to abolish the Big Apple\u2019s horse carriage industry, handing a historic win to animal rights activists who\u2019ve pushed to end the tourist attraction for decades.<\/p>\n
The vote doesn\u2019t mean the industry sunsets overnight, though. The bill enacting the ban \u2014 which passed the Council with 40 yays, 7 nays and 2 abstentions \u2014 allows the roughly 200 carriage drivers who shuttle tourists around Central Park to continue operating until June 2028, when the industry will be reined into a legal halt officially.<\/p>\n
Council Speaker Julie Menin, who started making the legislation\u2019s passage a priority over the summer, told reporters before the vote that the carriage horse-related June death of Romanch Mahajan<\/a>, an 18-year-old Indian tourist, was the last straw. But she also cited a long record of horses dying in the streets as part of the reason for the bill finally crossing the finish line.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a long time coming,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani \u2014 who initially withheld support for the measure over labor protection concerns \u2014 got behind it<\/a> earlier this month, sealing the deal for it to become law. He hasn\u2019t yet set a date for signing the bill.<\/p>\n Mamdani came on board after the Council modified the bill to give drivers pathways into other lines of work, and the phase-out period is key in that pursuit.<\/p>\n Under the bill, the city must create a workforce transition program under which drivers would, between now and 2028, receive career counseling as well as referrals to employment opportunities in both public and private sectors, including with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and hospitality and tourism outfits. The bill would also prohibit drivers from sending their horses to slaughter or using them for carriage duties in another city where it\u2019s allowed.<\/p>\n Horse carriage drivers and their supporters remain furious.<\/p>\n The Transport Workers Union, which advocates for carriage drivers, announced yesterday that it will file a lawsuit to block the ban, arguing it violates federal and state laws. The union is especially incensed that the bill doesn\u2019t require the city to pay out drivers for the value of their carriage licenses \u2014 an omission lawyers for the TWU say flies in the face of the Fifth Amendment\u2019s prohibition on government usurping private property without compensation.<\/p>\n Just as the Council was getting ready to vote, carriage supporters received backing from a somewhat unexpected source: President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cSo sad to see the beloved Central Park Horse-drawn Carriage Industry ending after over a Century, based largely on one tragic accident,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post<\/a>, referring to Mahajan. \u201cWhen there is a car accident in the area, of which there are many, they don\u2019t stop cars from entering the Park. So why would they stop the Carriages? It was a Great Tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n Also before today\u2019s vote, dozens of TWU reps and carriage drivers gathered outside City Hall to blast the Council for moving forward with the legislation. One of them brought along a ziplock bag of equine feces with a handwritten label on it reading: \u201cThis is horse sh*t.\u201d<\/p>\n Christina Hansen, who\u2019s been driving carriages for more than a decade, said she feels \u201cdisrespected\u201d by the fact that the bill doesn\u2019t guarantee she and her colleagues will be compensated for their licenses, which are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who are owed money on medallions, who have planned families, had children, bought houses, taken out loans,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen to them?\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow carriage driver Danielle Slot, who voted for Mamdani in last year\u2019s mayoral election, told Playbook she feels betrayed by his decision to back the bill without a provision mandating medallion reimbursement.<\/p>\n \u201cYou say you\u2019re going after billionaires, but you\u2019re really going after the underdogs,\u201d Slot said. \u201cThese guys are hardworking, every single medallion is its own independent business, and many are immigrant owned. I expected better from Mamdani than to be a puppet.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked why the bill only requires the city to \u201cconsider\u201d medallion compensation as opposed to requiring it, Menin pointed a finger at the mayor. \u201cTo be clear, that was language that, you know, was worked out with the administration,\u201d she told reporters at City Hall.<\/p>\n Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the mayor, did not dispute Menin\u2019s account, but said the administration is \u201cin discussions\u201d about compensation for medallion owners.<\/p>\n Mayors and Council speakers have tried to outlaw the industry since at least 2007. Momentum has built for a ban following tragic incidents in which horses have died or been severely injured in and around Central Park.<\/p>\n But until now, those efforts have fizzled, in part because of political pressure from the Transport Workers Union.<\/p>\n Carriage industry supporters argue that it can be reformed to ensure better safety standards without outlawing it outright. Council member Jim Gennaro, who introduced a bill that would do just that, said he believes Menin is at least partially politically motivated, pointing to the influence of NYCLASS, one of the main animal rights groups behind the push for a ban.<\/p>\n \u201cNYCLASS does have the ability to turn winners and losers in mayoral elections and in borough elections, and I don\u2019t think that fact has been lost on the speaker,\u201d he said before voting against the bill. NYCLASS notably tanked<\/a> former Council Speaker Christine Quinn\u2019s 2013 mayoral bid by spending heavily against her because of her reluctance to support a carriage ban at the time.<\/p>\n Before the bill passed this afternoon, Gennaro tried to force through an amendment that would\u2019ve delayed the phase-out deadline for the carriage industry until 2030, but it was rejected.<\/p>\n On the other side of the bitter debate, supporters of the bill gathered for a rally in City Hall Park before the vote. Among them were members of Mahajan\u2019s family, who have been fighting for the legislation since his death.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue justice means recognizing that these gentle, majestic horses do not belong on the congested asphalt,\u201d Gaurav Mahajan, Romanch\u2019s uncle, said. \u201cBy granting them the peaceful, green pastures they so deeply deserve, we fulfill Romanch\u2019s purpose.\u201d \u2014 Molly Reinmann and Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/p>\n RAILING AGAINST ALBANY: As Planet Albany denizens may have noticed, the Office of General Services this week began installing hand railings down the middle of several staircases near the state Senate chamber.<\/p>\n More railings are planned for the Assembly chamber-side stairs too. The project costs some $700,000<\/a>, per WNYC\u2019s Jon Campbell \u2014 further evidence that the most expensive government building construction project of the 19th century is never really done.<\/p>\n Aside from the cost, it\u2019s an aesthetic change to a building teeming with history and one that is rarely altered.<\/p>\n Historian and former state Assemblymember Jack McEneny is taking the latest addition to the New York state Capitol in stride.<\/p>\n \u201cI always thought it was only a matter of time that somebody would decide to do something,\u201d he said in an interview when asked about the railings.<\/p>\n McEneny is an expert on the building and has given guided tours. He noted the staircases were not built with safety in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was inevitable,\u201d he said of adding the railings. \u201cThere\u2019s a number of things that we did back two or three generations before that we wouldn\u2019t do today.\u201d<\/p>\n The stone staircases in the Capitol are indeed steep and very hard. (Fifteen years ago, your Playbook writer landed on his face while sprinting from the second to the third floor, necessitating an emergency dental intervention.)<\/p>\n The building, of course, has been altered over the years to fit the needs of people who work in it. That includes the installation of a small, hideaway elevator<\/a>, which was used by a wheelchair-bound Franklin Roosevelt when he was governor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe require more things than we did at the time of its opening,\u201d McEneny said. \u201cWe also have more attorneys who will sue.\u201d \u2014 Nick Reisman\u00a0<\/p>\n BLAKEMAN GROUP GETS $2M: The main super PAC supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has received $2 million from a dark money group created to back Donald Trump\u2019s 2024 presidential bid.<\/p>\n Securing American Greatness<\/a> made the donation Tuesday to Strong and Safe New York, according to a filing submitted to the state Board of Elections. That group was formed by longtime Trump ally Taylor Budowich.<\/p>\n The pro-Blakeman group has now raised $10.3 million since July. That makes it the largest single independent expenditure group so far this election cycle, though a longer roster of outside spenders boosting Gov. Kathy Hochul means she\u2019s still the beneficiary of more super PAC money. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n BROOKLYN BATTLE: The New York State Court of Appeals declined to weigh in Thursday on<\/a> the long-running legal battle between factions of Brooklyn Democrats looking to lead the county party.<\/p>\n State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the former chair of the party, appealed a lower court\u2019s decision that an August vote<\/a> to change the makeup of the organization\u2019s executive committee was invalid. The lower court\u2019s ruling remains in effect after the appeals court decided not to take it up.<\/p>\n The issue of if state Assemblymember Nikki Lucas, Bichotte Hermelyn\u2019s successor of choice, was properly elected is still playing out in the courts. \u2014 Madison Fernandez\u00a0<\/p>\n GOV AND MAYOR: Hochul\u2019s campaign today released a video co-starring Mamdani as they prepare to hit the trail together for her reelection.<\/p>\n The video highlighted<\/a> their shared push for expanding child care, visiting a family that benefits from the service.<\/p>\n POLITICO first reported this morning that the governor and mayor will make two appearances together<\/a> in the coming days with events on Friday and Sunday in Brooklyn. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n MAM LEANS ON MENIN: Mamdani put public pressure on Menin today by showing up to a rally calling for the passage of labor legislation that she hasn\u2019t thrown her weight behind yet \u2014 in part because of legal concerns.<\/p>\n The Delivery Protection Act, which was introduced by democratic socialist Council member Tiffany Cab\u00e1n, would require Amazon and other retail giants to hire their own delivery workers. Currently, retailers can subcontract delivery employees via third party entities \u2014 a system that supporters of Cab\u00e1n\u2019s bill argue hampers workers\u2019 ability to unionize and allows companies like Amazon to skirt accountability for labor violations.<\/p>\n Thirty-four of the Council\u2019s 51 members have signed on as co-sponsors of Cab\u00e1n\u2019s bill, giving it a veto-proof majority of support, and a hearing was held on it in April. But Menin hasn\u2019t scheduled a vote on the measure or offered support for it, even though she was a co-sponsor of a version of the legislation last year before becoming speaker.<\/p>\n Against that backdrop, Mamdani appeared on the steps of City Hall this morning with Cab\u00e1n and other backers of the bill. In prepared remarks, he didn\u2019t call out Menin by name, but blasted Amazon for pumping millions of dollars into lobbying against the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cCorporations like Amazon operate on a model of exploitation, and they are spending millions of dollars to convince New Yorkers otherwise,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it will not work because we are here together today to make clear that we are going to pass the Delivery Protection Act.\u201d<\/p>\n By contrast, International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O\u2019Brien, whose union represents Amazon workers, took direct aim at Menin, saying she must call a vote on the bill immediately. \u201cNow is the time to get off your ass,\u201d said O\u2019Brien, who met privately with Mamdani before the rally.<\/p>\n When asked later in the day why she isn\u2019t immediately moving forward with the bill, Menin cited concerns she said need to be worked out regarding potential job losses that could come from barring Amazon from relying on third party contractors. But she also said Mamdani\u2019s own Law Department had reached out to the Council with \u201clegal concerns\u201d with the bill that needed to be resolved before a vote.<\/p>\n Menin didn\u2019t elaborate on the legal issues. But a person with knowledge of the conversations between the Council and the Law Department, who was granted anonymity to discuss the ongoing talks, told Playbook one of the concerns is centered around ensuring the bill satisfies the high legal standard required for the city to mandate direct hiring in the private sector.<\/p>\n A Mamdani spokesperson didn\u2019t immediately return a request for comment on the legal concerns.<\/p>\n Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly pushed back against the criticism from Mamdani and O\u2019Brien, saying the reliance on third parties \u201cworks because local entrepreneurs \u2014 people rooted in their communities \u2014 deliver a better experience.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this model isn’t unusual \u2014 it’s how businesses and governments operate every day,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cNew York City routinely contracts with outside companies to build its infrastructure, run its school buses, and deliver social services. This legislation would single out one industry for restrictions the city doesn’t even apply to its own operations.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit unusual for Mamdani to put the speaker on public notice like this over Council legislation. So far in his mayoral term, he hasn\u2019t leaned heavily into legislative battles in the chamber over bills that are still under consideration. \u2014 Chris Sommerfeldt\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 DOUBLE AGENT: A campaign website for Thomas Kenny, an upstate Assembly candidate running on the Working Families Party ballot line, was created by an aide for Kenny\u2019s ostensible opponent, Republican Allen Caruso. (New York Focus<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 ICE: Hochul\u2019s office is pushing back against the detention of a state employee by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 BUS FARE: The MTA is temporarily shutting down its bus fair enforcement teams following an altercation between a Brooklyn public school dean and fare inspectors. (Gothamist<\/a>) \u00a0<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\nFrom the Capitol<\/h3>\n
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n
IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n