Joyce Friedman

At a vigil in Central Park on Monday, a statement from the family of 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan, who was killed in a carriage horse incident last week, was read. "No family should ever travel to New York City for vacation and return home mourning," the family said. More: abc7ny.com/post/vigil-pla…

Please @NYCMayor, suspend horse carriages immediately while @SpeakerMenin & @NYCCouncil hear #Ryderslaw, now #RomanchsLaw . His family is begging for this & it's the safest path forward for people & horses. @nyclass @theanimalvoters

@theirturn @NY1 @NYCMayor Completely agree. Suspend operations until the bill is heard and hopefully passed. Please @NYCMayor do so at the earnest heartbreaking request of the grieving family. The industry is dangerous and we can't risk another death.

The Mahajan family, whose teenage son died when the spooked horse bolted, is pleading with @NYCMayor #Mamdani "to cease the operations of the carriages immediately" in order to prevent another death. At the very least, Mamdani can suspend operations until the City Council takes up the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages from the chaotic and dangerous streets of Manhattan.

During a vigil Monday, City Council Member Christopher Marte read statements from the family of Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old visitor from India who was killed last week after a horse pulling a carriage carrying him and his family bolted through Central Park. Mahajan’s family condemned the planned resumption of carriage rides this week. They are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council to ban horse-drawn carriages permanently. “This is a profound insult to our family and a direct threat to public safety of every tourist and resident in New York City,” the family's statement read. Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents carriage drivers and owners, said it has been implementing a series of safety measures in the wake of Mahajan’s death. “We continue to keep the family of Romanch Mahajan in our prayers. Words can’t express the enormity of this tragedy,” the union said in a statement Friday. “We are continuing refresher training with drivers today stressing best practices and safety protocols,” it added in a statement Monday.

@VegMediaWatch @News12 @BlaiseGomez12 @News12WC @News12HV @FarmSanctuary @TamerlaineFAS @CASanctuary @WoodstockFarm @VegMediaWatch Thank you for informing the public about media coverage of animal cruelty or lack there of & all the work you put into it. Thank you @BlaiseGomez, @News12, @News12HudsonValley for revealing the inherent cruelty in animal agriculture which isn't done often by media.

Millions of animals raised for food suffer and die in below freezing temps. In a story on @News12 in NY, reporter @BlaiseGomez12 shows footage of dozens of baby calves who are chained in outdoor hutches in single digit temps. No heat. No water (b/c it freezes). No playing. No enrichment. No love. No mothers (because the farmers separate them at birth). "Food" animals are treated like commodities, not individuals, and they are victims of an industry that is inherently inhumane. These calves are just a case in point. Thank you #News12 for informing your viewers.

@DjokovicFan_ He's awesome & he's also has compassion for tortured and slaughtered animals by not purchasing and eating them - he is plant based . A good guy.

How can anyone dislike Novak Djokovic?

@transportworker @ZohranKMamdani @TWULocal100 Ryder's Law provides for better jobs for the drivers and TWU knows this. The bill is a win win for animals and humans!

"I support removing horse carriages from Central Park,” Mamdani said. If Mayor-Elect @ZohranKMamdani was correctly quoted by CBS News, it will be an absolute betrayal of @twulocal100’s immigrant carriage driver workforce in favor of the likes of Randy Maestro and his real estate interest clients who don’t care about the horses; they only care about developing the stables. This would be siding with developers eager to replace the stables with high-rises, and with animal rights zealots, instead of blue-collar workers.

@PaisleyABailey @transportworker @ZohranKMamdani @TWULocal100 Exactly! TWU knows no one who supports a ban wants to develop those crappy stables ! It's an old trope and myth they bring out to try to get sympathy for their outdated abusive industry! Only motive is compassion and safety!

@transportworker @ZohranKMamdani @TWULocal100 This is a joke! TWU is a joke of a business. Nobody cares about developing this stables, it’s hilarious that this is your only angle at an ulterior motive. It’s pathetic. The only people tha don’t care about the horses is your cruel business and everybody knows it, just give up

What happened today in the NYC Council Health Committee was one of the most undemocratic displays we’ve seen. For 3 years, @NYCSpeakerAdams and Chair @Lynn4NYC have blocked any public hearing on Ryder’s Law — despite a super-majority of polled New Yorkers supporting the bill, over 20 cosponsors, strong backing from horse experts and even the Central Park Conservancy urging action. Horses have collapsed, even dropped dead on the streets recently. Multiple horses have had violent runaway spooking incidents, crashing into vehicles, sending New Yorkers to the hospital, and nearly trampling others. These dangers are exactly why a public hearing is urgently needed. Today’s sham meeting only happened because @BobHoldenNYC had to use a rarely invoked rule to force the committee to meet after the bill had been blocked. His action brought this corrupt situation into full public view. What followed raised serious concerns with apparent violations of law denying a motion for a hearing. The committee was recently stacked with @JustinBrannan, whose alignment with TWU was unmistakable today as he voted against safety, against transparency, and for the continuation of horses collapsing, dying, and crashing into cars. Shameless. Our resolve is unbreakable. NYCLASS will continue fighting — relentlessly and unapologetically — until the cruelty ends, and New York City finally joins the many cities worldwide that have already moved beyond horse-drawn carriages. We are not going anywhere, and neither is this movement. Stay tuned for more updates! 🐴

In an appalling display of political expediency, the NYC Council's Health Committee killed Ryder's Law without holding a public hearing or allowing a vote on the Council floor.. @nyclass has been advocating for a hearing on this bill to ban horse-drawn carriages for about three years - with the help of thousands of NYers who oppose the operation of horse-drawn carriage in midtown Manhattan. The head of the committee @Lynn4NYC (Lynn Schulman) posted the attached statement, which doesn't even reference the issue! She claims to want to “bring all sides together,” but she literally shut the entire discussion down with the help of @JustinBrannan. This is a colossal setback, but we will continue to advocate on behalf the horses, who've been stripped of everything that would make their lives worth living, until they're taken off the streets and out of harm's way.

@Lynn4NYC You shot down the bill that WOULD have been a great solution for all sides! You abstained rather than voted yes for a VOTE on the bill. Your statement here is meaningless!

My statement on today's vote on Intro 967 ⏬️ which shows the work that needs to be done to bring all sides together, and I am eager to play a constructive role in this process.

Our volunteers are out every day from now until August. We connect with thousands of beachgoers & help educate folks about the fragile birds that call our city home each year. This works! Piping Plovers do better on beaches when there are active stewards looking out for them!

We're glad to see this legislation advance, as pigeons are often captured in New York City and transported across state lines to be killed in these shoots. 💜🙌 news.yahoo.com/ban-shooting-l…

World’s First Caviar Farm Exposé Reveals Workers Stabbing Fish, Beating Them to Death With Metal Clubs peta.org/blog/animal-ju… Thanks to @peta for sharing this investigation @AnimalJustice did at a BC caviar farm.

On June 18 at 10AM, NYC Council’s Health Committee will hold a hearing on how the City can support @nycacc, community organizations & rescuers working on low-cost veterinary care, adoptions, reduce stray animal overpopulation, and rehome surrendered pets.

There’s a new date for our legislative briefing covering how we’ll take action to ensure that NY State bans the sale of glue traps! Please join us on Tuesday, May 21 at 1:00pm to learn how you can help end the sale of these cruel devices! 🔔 RSVP 👉 bit.ly/gluetrapsnys

"I didn't know being seen would cost me my life." 💔 Please take one minute of your day and urge your NYS legislators to support S.6314/A.4785, a bill that will ban the sale of glue traps in New York when passed. Take action NOW 👉 vfar.org/gluetraps

Ask Your NYS Senator & Assembly Member to Prohibit Wild Animals in Circuses Throughout NY State @theanimalvoters vfar.org/circus?link_id…

If anyone sees this all-white pigeon near Dell Water in @GreenWoodHF, can you please try to contain it? Putting down seeds would help. This bird was likely from a misguided "dove release" and will be quickly preyed on there. There may be others in the area.