Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Carriage Horse Industry Not Trotting Towards Improvement
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 22, 2009
Modified Sep 22, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 22, 2009
Modified Sep 22, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Following this weekend's crash
, the carriage horse debate surfaces in the headlines once again. CityRoom takes a look at the status of the industry after two years of getting audited by the city comptroller's office. They note that while certain things have improved, "the two agencies that oversee the business have acted too slowly in putting reforms into effect."
This is all according to a new report from the office of Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. that criticizes the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Consumer Affairs; together the agencies maintain the well-being of the animals, and license horses, drivers, carriages and stables. "In the new assessment, the comptroller’s office found that the two departments implemented 7 of the 11 recommendations made in the 2007 audit." One of the 7 was an advisory board proposed two decades earlier. With little progress and such a slow pace, it's no wonder groups like the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages exist.
Dan Mathews from PETA, another critic of the industry, made a statement about the audit, saying in part: "After 25 years the city is still trying to figure out how to identify horses properly so that drivers don’t illegally double-shift them. They don’t even touch on other issues, such as compelling drivers to keep the horses in stables when freezing weather or violent storms are forecast, or to document the many accidents involving horses that don’t make news. We hope this report convinces the city to go the way of Paris, London, Toronto and Beijing and conclude that big city traffic and easily spooked large animals don’t mix. The horse-drawn carriages need to be banned outright."
Tagged
animal rights
audit
carriage horses
comptroller
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
The $1.9 billion project isn't expected to wrap up until 2032.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 12:59 p.m. ET
Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB
Officials say retired NYPD detective Victor Romero, 62, killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine in a road rage incident.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB
Officials say retired NYPD detective Victor Romero, 62, killed 46-year-old Koran Irvine in a road rage incident.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
MTA suspending bus fare enforcement teams after altercations emerge
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
NYC's horse carriage industry facing potential extinction with Thursday Council vote
By
Catalina Gonella
Jersey City housing development deal expected to send money to schools, city government
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .