NYC carriage horse drivers beg Mamdani to save their jobs after controversial ban: I thought you stood with us
Horse-drawn carriage drivers begged Mayor Zohran Mamdani Wednesday not to get rid of their jobs — calling on him to stand up for working-class people.Hizzoner, during a hearing at City Hall, faced heat from angry Transit Workers Union members, who said they felt left in the wind by the recently passed bill banning their long-running industry.“I thought you stood with us, working-class people, and our union, and our immigrant coworkers who poured their life savings into carriage medallions, pursuing the American dream,” one irate carriage driver charged during the over hourlong testimonial.“Why have you sided with the billionaires and real estate developers?” the hansom cabbie continued, grilling the democratic socialist darling.The City Council passed the bill last month — dubbed “Romanch’s Law” after 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan, who was thrown to his death from a Central Park horse-drawn carriage in July — with a veto-proof majority.But the legislation, which would phase out the 150-year-old tradition by summer 2028, lacked monetary compensation for the roughly 200 horse-carriage drivers — only including vague promises of job training for “new economic opportunities.” “I’m gonna tell my daughter tonight that in May she’s gonna have to drop out of university after three years,” another cabbie told Mamdani during the hearing, which also saw testimony from animal advocates and other activists supporting the ban.Mamdani — who has made standing up for the working class on a centerpiece of his platform — has also expressed support for the ban, and indicated he would sign the bill into law by the late-November deadline.But Mamdani has offered little details about how the city will protect the drivers, some of whom have shelled out upwards of $400,000 on medallions to operate the carriages –similar to how yellow cabs operate.“I had the opportunity to visit a horse stable and meet with a number of poor scared drivers, incl...