The union for the Big Apple’s horse-carriage drivers has unleashed a withering attack ad calling City Council Speaker Julie Menin a traitor for supporting a bill that would ban the rides.
Menin had not been pushing the bill till a young tourist died during a ride last month — and her now-open support for it means it will likely pass.
“Thank you for the betrayal, Julie,” a narrator says in the searing ad paid for by the Transport Workers Union.
The 30-second spot says Menin is destroying 200 horse-carriage-industry jobs while she frolics in her “$22 million mansion in the Hamptons,” referring to the posh summer home that the pol and her wealthy developer hubby Bruce Menin own.
The ad shows people being poured glasses of champagne and attending polo matches — then pans to a glum-looking family “worrying about how they put food on the table.”
The six-figure ad is appearing during TV news programming and on digital streaming services, said TWU president John Samuelsen.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Samuelsen said of the fight to save the embattled horse-carriage industry — which has taken it on the chin over recent mishaps, including one that left a young tourist dead.
The proposed local legislation to outlaw horse carriages has languished for years, despite a concerted push by animal-rights activists.
But the push gained momentum, including from Menin, after a teen tourist was tragically killed last month when he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.
The family of the 18-year-old victim, Romanch Mahajan, has said it supports banning the iconic rides and the 160-year-old industry for good.
Samuelsen accused Menin of exploiting Mahajan’s death to advance her political career. He also said the most recent proposed legislation lacks ironclad job protection for carriage drivers if their horse rides go south.
Menin stood her ground and slammed the TWU for leveling “false personal attacks.”
“I’ve been clear that any transition away from horse-drawn carriages must come with a plan to protect affected workers with sustainable, comparable jobs,” Menin said.
“False personal attacks are simply unproductive. Instead, the council remains committed to working with the affected workers to develop a workforce protection plan that’s informed by their input.”
A major animal-rights group, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, or NYCLASS, slammed the TWU for its role in preserving the horse-carriage industry.
“TWU Local 100 falsely claims these are `union” jobs,’ but carriage drivers receive no protections, benefits or bargaining rights,” NYCLASS said in a statement.
Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on the campaign trail and since taking office in January that he supports a ban on the carriage rides, which have been around since Central Park opened in 1858.
He said last month that he would work to “deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”
