The union for the Huge Apple’s horse-carriage drivers has unleashed a withering assault advert calling Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin a traitor for supporting a invoice that might ban the rides.
Menin had not been pushing the invoice until a younger vacationer died throughout a journey final month — and her now-open help for it means it’s going to possible move.
“Thanks for the betrayal, Julie,” a narrator says within the searing advert paid for by the Transport Staff Union.
The 30-second spot says Menin is destroying 200 horse-carriage-industry jobs whereas she frolics in her “$22 million mansion within the Hamptons,” referring to the luxury summer time dwelling that the pol and her rich developer hubby Bruce Menin personal.
The advert exhibits folks being poured glasses of champagne and attending polo matches — then pans to a glum-looking household “worrying about how they put meals on the desk.”
The six-figure advert is showing throughout TV information programming and on digital streaming companies, mentioned TWU president John Samuelsen.
“It’s not over till it’s over,” Samuelsen mentioned of the battle to avoid wasting the embattled horse-carriage {industry} — which has taken it on the chin over latest mishaps, together with one which left a younger vacationer useless.
The proposed native laws to outlaw horse carriages has languished for years, regardless of a concerted push by animal-rights activists.
However the push gained momentum, together with from Menin, after a teen vacationer was tragically killed final month when he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.
The household of the 18-year-old sufferer, Romanch Mahajan, has mentioned it helps banning the enduring rides and the 160-year-old {industry} for good.
Samuelsen accused Menin of exploiting Mahajan’s demise to advance her political profession. He additionally mentioned the latest proposed laws lacks ironclad job safety for carriage drivers if their horse rides go south.
Menin stood her floor and slammed the TWU for leveling “false private assaults.”
“I’ve been clear that any transition away from horse-drawn carriages should include a plan to guard affected staff with sustainable, comparable jobs,” Menin mentioned.
“False private assaults are merely unproductive. As a substitute, the council stays dedicated to working with the affected staff to develop a workforce safety plan that’s knowledgeable by their enter.”
A serious animal-rights group, New Yorkers for Clear, Livable, and Protected Streets, or NYCLASS, slammed the TWU for its function in preserving the horse-carriage {industry}.
“TWU Native 100 falsely claims these are `union” jobs,’ however carriage drivers obtain no protections, advantages or bargaining rights,” NYCLASS mentioned in a press release.
Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned on the marketing campaign path and since taking workplace in January that he helps a ban on the carriage rides, which have been round since Central Park opened in 1858.
He mentioned final month that he would work to “ship a simply transition that protects staff whereas ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park as soon as and for all.”
