Model T May Replace Horse and Buggy Again

A city lawmaker wants to replace horse and buggy carriages in Manhattan with electric Model T Ford replicas.

Councilman Daniel Garodnick hopes to put the proposal before the City Council this spring. Garodnick is pushing a plan supported by the animal-rights group PETA . 

The plan is to develop electric or hybrid cars, which would tour the same Central Park course that horse-drawn buggies use now  and could even be driven by current carriage operators, according to the New York Post.

There were heated exchanges at a public hearing last month about possibly banning horse drawn carriages, a bill introduced by Queens Councilman Tony Avella.

There have been seven incidents since 2007 involving horses, including three deaths, according to Avella.

"I support the car plan, but we still have to institute the ban and then say to the carriage operators, this is what we want to replace it with," Avella told the Post.

The proposal does not have the support of the Horse and Carriage Association of New York.

"The proposal is absolutely absurd,"said spokeswoman Carolyn Daly.

"These are men and women who have dedicated their lives to horses, who love working with horses, and [Garodnick] thinks they can change to drive electric cars?"

Ironically, it was cars like the Model T that replaced the horse and buggy on New York City streets in the early part of the 20th century.
 

Contact Us