The following is proposed legislation drafted
by the Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages in New York City.
A LOCAL LAW
To amend the Administrative Code of the City of
New York,
PROVIDING FOR PROHIBITING COMMERICAL OPERATION
OF ANIMAL-DRAWN VEHICLES UPON PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OTHER PUBLIC AREAS
WITHIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL
OF SECTIONS OR PARTS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH TO THE
EXTENT OF SUCH CONFICT; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND PROVIDING FOR
PUBLICATION IN ACCORANCE WITH LAW.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 17-330 of the Administrative Code of
the City of New York is repealed and a new section 17-330 is added to read as
follows:
PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES
WHEREAS, the system of roads within the city of
New York carries large volumes of vehicular traffic; and
WHEREAS, the intermingling of slow-moving,
commercially operated animal-drawn carriages or vehicles with city traffic has
both caused and raised the likelihood of accidents, thereby endangering the
health and safety of automobile and carriage passengers, pedestrians, and
animals; and
WHEREAS, the waste from the animals causes a
sanitation problem on the streets; and
WHEREAS, weather and street conditions,
including snow, rain, and slippery conditions, and the heat and humidity of
summer months, the hard pavement, urban noise, traffic congestion, and
vehicular exhaust fumes constitute inappropriate conditions for commercial
enterprises using animals; and
WHEREAS, after observing urban conditions,
accidents, and maltreatment of animals and their inappropriate presence in
localities, Friends of Animals, and other animal groups have opposed such
operations.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the city of
New York, that:
Section 1. Section 17-330 of the Administrative
Code of the City of New York is repealed and a new section 17-330 is added,
creating a new section entitled “Commercial Animal-Drawn Vehicles Prohibited,”
which shall hereafter be and read as follows:
Section 17-330, Commercial Animal-Drawn
Carriages Prohibited.
1. Definitions. As used in this Section, the
following words shall be defined as follow:
Public Place. Shall mean any public
grounds, street, road right-of-way, alley, sidewalk, park or any other
open property within the city of New York City, New York, to which the
general public is licensed or invited to enter, which such open property
specifically includes parking lots and parking areas or commercial
establishments.
Persons. Shall include any
individual, corporation, partnership, association, club, or any other
legal entity.
2. Unlawful to operate commercial
animal-drawn vehicles in public places. It shall be unlawful for any person
to operate or cause to be operated in any public place within the City any
vehicle, carriage, or other apparatus which is powered or propelled by an
animal independent of or in conjunction with a mechanized means of power or
propulsion.
3. Violation: penalty. Any person who
violated any provisions of this Section shall, upon conviction in a court of
competent jurisdiction, be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand
Dollars ($1000.00) per incident.
4. Severability. If any provision of this
Section or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect the other provisions or application of this Section which can be
given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Section are herby declared severable.
Section 2. That all parts or section of the
Administrative Code of the City of New York in conflict with the provisions of
this section be, and they are hereby repealed insofar as the same affect this
section.
Section 3. This section of the Administrative
Code of the City of New York shall be published in accordance with the
requirements of law.
Section 4. This section of the administrative
code of the city of New York shall become effective at such time as this
amendment has been duly recorded in the Public Records of New York City.
[NOTE: All organizations that are
members of the Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages feel very strongly that
any legislation to ban this industry would have to be phased in over a period
of time - to be determined. Placing the large number of horses from the
carriage horse industry will take some time and must be a concerted,
cooperative effort by many people. We are also not insensitive to the
economics involved and support phasing out of this business to mitigate any
hardship to the people employed in it. However, our primary goal is to put an
end to this inhumane industry as quickly as possible and to insure that the
horses are placed in good homes. ]
