During New York City’s mayoral race last year, then-candidate Bill de Blasio promised to fix big-picture problems, like income inequality and universal pre-K.

So he raised some collective eyebrows when he announced what one of his first initiatives as mayor would be:

“We are going to quickly and aggressively move to make horse carriages no longer a part of the landscape in New York City,” he said. “They’re not humane; they’re not appropriate to the year 2014; it’s over.”

Horse carriage rides are a staple in cities around the country. Animal rights activists have argued for decades that the practice is inhumane, and they’ve been gaining some political allies. A Chicago alderman recently called for a carriage ban.

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