Bruce Blakeman criticizes NYC's newly passed horse carriage ban: "There don't have to be losers"

Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani while discussing New York City's newly passed horse carriage ban.

"That's the problem when you have people who aren't leaders, they don't try to figure out solutions to problems," Blakeman said on this week's episode of "The Point with Marcia Kramer."

He said he would have tried to figure out a way to improve carriage safety and working conditions for horses rather than allowing the industry to end.

"It's getting everybody together in the same room and figuring it out. There don't have to be losers. It can be win-win," Blakeman said. "Why didn't we get all the stakeholders in a room, make it safer and also make it so the animals have a safer place to work and a place where they can work and not be subject to any kind of abuse or things that would be deleterious to the health of the animals?"

He voiced concerns about the carriage drivers who will be losing their jobs, saying it "weighs heavily on me."

On Friday, the City Council passed Romanch's Law, which calls for the horse carriage industry to end operations in June 2028. The law also calls for transition plan for workers and horse owners to be in place in 2027.

The law was named for Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist who died in a carriage accident in Central Park in June.

The mayor still has to sign the bill.

The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, is filing a lawsuit to stop the ban, arguing it illegally takes away their property without adequate compensation.

Click here to watch Blakeman's full interview covering a range of topics on "The Point with Marcia Kramer."