September 18, 2025 MANHATTAN, NY — A firestorm is erupting in New York City after Mayor Eric Adams announced his support for a plan to phase out the city’s iconic horse-drawn carriages. The move, which would replace the centuries-old industry with electric vehicles, has ignited a fierce debate, pitting animal welfare advocates against labor unions who accuse Adams of political betrayal.

A "Judas Iscariot" Betrayal?

The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), which represents the city’s carriage drivers, wasted no time in lashing out at the mayor. John Samuelsen, the union's international president, called Adams "a straight-up Judas Iscariot who has sold his soul to real estate developers."

Samuelsen claims that developers have long eyed the valuable West Side stables, hoping to replace them with luxury buildings. He suggested that Adams's sudden shift is a desperate political maneuver. "He doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of being reelected," Samuelsen stated, "He’s behind Sliwa in the polls. Pathetic."

Pete Donohue, the union's senior director of communications, echoed the sentiment, noting that Adams once publicly supported the drivers and their horses. Donohue questioned why Adams would now seek to put 170 blue-collar workers out of a job during a financial crisis.

The Push for "Ryder's Law"

Adams is urging the City Council to pass Ryder's Law, a bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages and replace them with electric cars. The legislation is named after a horse that collapsed and died on a Manhattan street in 2022. Viral video of the incident, which showed the driver reportedly whipping and screaming at the animal, sparked widespread outrage.

Animal rights group PETA has praised the mayor’s decision. "The only people fighting for this dying industry are the horse-drawn carriage operators trying to make a buck off broken horses’ backs," said PETA director Ashley Byrne, who also called on City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to stop blocking the bill.

Surprisingly, even Adams's frequent political rival, Republican Curtis Sliwa, has thrown his support behind the ban. "Today, for once, I agree with the mayor," Sliwa said, calling the industry "cruel and barbaric."

Politics or Principle?

While animal welfare advocates celebrate, critics from the City Council are calling Adams's move opportunistic. In a statement, the Council accused the mayor of "politically using" the issue for his reelection campaign. They highlighted Adams's lack of credibility in the legislative process, citing instances where the Council was forced to override his vetoes on other bills.

Adams has signed an executive order to lay the groundwork for phasing out the industry. The order directs city agencies to strengthen oversight, help drivers transition to new jobs, and create a process for voluntarily returning their licenses.

However, the future of the bill remains uncertain. The City Council's resistance and the strong labor backlash suggest a long road ahead. The fate of the horse-drawn carriage industry now hangs in the balance, caught between a mayor's political calculations and a city’s evolving conscience.