Prohibits the operation of horse drawn cabs in the city of New York; repealer

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision (c), (g) and (i) of section 17-326 of the administrative code of the city of New York by deleting the provisions which refer to rental horse business involving horse drawn carriages.

Section 2 of the bill amends the administrative code of the city of New York by adding a new section 17-326.1 which states that it shall be unlawful to offer rides to the public on a vehicle drawn or pulled by a carriage horse.

Section 3 of the bill amends subdivisions a and d of section 17-327 of the administrative code of the city of New York, subdivision d as amended by local law number 22 of the city of New York by removing language which allows for the operation of horse drawn vehicles for hire such as horse drawn cabs.

Section 4 of the bill amends section 17-329 of the administrative code in relation to the disposition of licensed horses requiring the notification of the disposition within 5 days and removes language which made this applicable solely to sales within New York city. It also adds a new subdivision to this section setting forth the definition of sold or disposed in a humane manner.

Section 5 of the bill amends subdivisions g, h and l of section 17-330 of the administrative code of the city of New York, subdivisions g and l as amended by local law number 10 of the city of New York for the year 2010, and subdivision h as added by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the year 1994, by removing language which refers to the operation of horse drawn cabs or carriage horses.

Section 6 of the bill repeals subdivisions o and p of section 17-330 of the administrative code of the city of New York.

Section 7 of the bill amends paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 17-331 of the administrative code of the city of New York by removing language referring to the operation of carriage horses.

Sections 8 through 10 of the bill repeal subdivision a of section 17-334, sections 19-174, 19-175 and 20-371 of the administrative code of the City of New York.

Sections 11 and 12 of the bill amends section 20-371 and subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 20-372 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 31 of the city of New York for the year 1995, by removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 13 of the bill repeals subdivisions 5, 6, 7 and 8 of section 20-372 of the administrative code of the city of New York and renumbers remaining subdivisions.

Section 14 of the bill amends subdivisions a and b of section 20-373 of the administrative code of the city of New York by removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 15 of the bill repeals subdivisions c and d of section 20-373 of the administrative code of the city of New York

Section 16 of the bill amends subdivisions a and b of section 20-374 of the administrative of the city of New York by removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 17 of the bill repeals subdivisions c of section 20-374 of the administrative code of the city of New York.

Section 18 of the bill amends section 20-375 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the year 1994 by removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 19 of the bill repeals sections 20-377 and 20-377.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York.

Sections 20 and 21 of the bill amend sections 20-378 and 20-379 of the administrative code of the city of New York by removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 22 of the bill repeals sections 20-380, 20-381, 20-381.1, 20-381.2 and 20-382 of the administrative code of the city of New York.

Section 23 of the bill amends section 20-383 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 2 of the city of New York for the year 1994, the section number, the section heading and subdivision a as amended by local law number 41 of the city of New York for the year 2005 by renumbering and removing language referring to the operation of horse drawn cabs.

Section 24 provides for this act to take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after is shall have become a law.

Justification

Prior to 1993, the Administrative Code permitted the operation of horse drawn cabs solely in the confines of Central Park and the immediate adjacent streets. Following the "sunsetting" of these laws, the Administrative Code was amended to allow the operation of horse drawn cabs in vast sections of the already congested midtown Manhattan area. These new code sections contained numerous

subparagraphs setting up differing restrictions depending upon the days of the week and the specific locations for operation.

As a result of these amendments in 1994, major safety hazards have been created in an area of the city where there are already numerous traffic safety problems given the abundance of pedestrians, cars, taxis, buses, bikers and emergency vehicles. In addition, given the complexity of the statute itself, enforcement has become inconsistent at best.

Since opening up these midtown streets to the horse drawn cabs, numerous accidents have occurred posing grave danger to the animals, passenger's, motorists and pedestrians. In September 2009 a carriage driver was seriously injured after a taxi on Fifth Avenue collided with a horse carriage in the middle of the afternoon. The taxi crashed into a wall and the horse and carriage careened around a corner and ultimately stopped but only after the driver suffered serious injuries and was taken away by ambulance and hospitalized. Two years prior in September 2007 a 12 year old horse was spooked by a loud noise while left unattended and she bolted away became entangled in the carriage wheel as she crashed into a tree. The horse went into shock and died at the scene. Prior to this at least 6 other accidents involving horse carriages occurred following another horse fatality in January 2006 where a horse pulling a carriage became startled and galloped down 9th Avenue for several blocks and collided with a vehicle. This resulted in the ultimate death of the horse and serious injury to the driver of the carriage. Unfortunately, this has become an all too familiar scenario in the streets of midtown Manhattan and something must finally be done to prevent these situations from occurring.

Prior legislative history

2011-12, S.5013/A7748 (Rosenthal)

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after is shall have become a law.