We thought Mayor de Blasio might have learned from his wholesale botch of the charter-schools issue that voters are less concerned about ideology than common sense when it comes to running their city.
Yet the mayor’s hubris about the progressive “mandate” voters gave him in November (a mandate belied by the low turnout) is again leading him astray. This time it’s about the ban on horse carriages he supported in the last stretch of his campaign.
Only a few months ago, he said ridding the city of this industry would be among his first acts as mayor. Now he’s saying it would take more time than he had thought but that he still expects to get it done by year’s end. Of course, the reason it’s taking more time is that the more people learn about it, the more doubts they have.
That includes members of the City Council, who are skittish about signing on to an effort that runs against overwhelming public sentiment for keeping the horses — and would deprive as many as 300 hard-working people of their livelihoods. (Or perhaps he and the handful of advocates who support the ban are hoping for an accident to rally public support — a morbid thought.)
De Blasio says having horses pull carriages in a city is inhumane. But that’s not a matter of science. It’s merely a feeling shared by some animal-rights activists who don’t care whether or not the carriage drivers find jobs. They just want horse carriages gone, and they pretend it’s “animal abuse” to advance their cause.
De Blasio would be wise to see that his handling of this tracks with his handling of charter schools: The more New Yorkers know about what he’s doing, the more opposed they become.
It’s not a good sign when a mayor responds by digging in his heels.