Mayor elect Bill De Blasio is standing firm about getting rid of the iconic New York horse-drawn carriage. INSIDE EDITION has more.
The horse-drawn carriage is classic New York. You've seen them in TV shows like Seinfeld and 30 Rock and in movies like Barefoot in the Park and Woody Allen's Manhattan.
But the clip clop of hooves will soon disappear from the streets of New York.
As 2013 comes to a close, so does the era of the horse-drawn carriage, that iconic New York experience on every tourist's must do list. Mayor elect Bill De Blasio vows, they've got to go, saying "They're not humane, they're not appropriate to the year 2014. It's over."
Animal rights activists have been campaigning against the carriages for years. Allie Feldman, Executive Director of NYCLASS said, "This is an outdated, inhumane, unsafe abuse of industry and it's time for it to go"
There have been some terrifying incidents of horses freaking out. A tourist from Syracuse was left badly shaken when a horse pulling her carriage reared up and then collapsed.
Tourists INSIDE EDITION spoke to were dismayed to learn of the demise of the carriage rides. One said, "It will be quite sad cause it's part of New York City."
The horse-drawn carriage industry maintains that the horses are treated well.
