Actor Danny Glover Makes Appearance In Support Of NYC Horse Carriages
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Horse-drawn carriage drivers got some high-profile support Friday against Mayor de Blasio's push to ban them in New York City.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, the controversy has heated up over the holidays, especially Friday—the busiest Friday of the year for Central Park's horse carriage trade.
But on Friday, actor Danny Glover took a midday ride in support of the industry's drivers.
"Hard-working men and women who add value to the city," Glover said.
Glover is at odds with the mayor, who championed the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages by June 2016.
The "Lethal Weapon" actor told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond he supports the carriage drivers because of his long-standing ties to the labor movement, beginning with his parents.
"I've been to visit the stable and they seem to be treated very humanely, so I'm trying to figure out what else is at stake here," Glover said.
The city council is expected to vote on it in April.
"I would tell the mayor, with all due respect, I know you're wrong on this. You need to go down to the stable. You need to come down here, maybe you need to take a ride in one of these carriages," Glover said.
"I am a fan of his, he's a great actor, I just disagree with him. We don't make decisions based on celebrities," de Blasio said.
With the mayor refusing to budge on the issue, those at the reigns have a message for the mayor.
"I think it's a great tourist attraction and it should stay," Ashley Schubert said, a tourist from Washington.
"I think this is a part of New York. It's a staple part of Central Park, taking a horse around, people get married on these things, they get engaged on here," Liz Hirschauer said.
Members of the group NYCLASS, which leads the charge to ban the carriages, reacted to Glover's PR move with one of their own: riding in a prototype of the "horseless eCarriage."
Some parkgoers say it's time for this change.
"I think sentimentality alone is not enough of a reason to hold onto this tradition," Park Slope resident Jeff Lewonczyk said,
The latest Quinnipiac University poll found 67 percent of city voters say they are against de Blasio's horse carriages ban.
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