Statement from Voters For Animal Rights on Council Member Ariola’s Last-Minute Betrayal on Romanch’s Law: Voters For Animal Rights is deeply disappointed by Council Member Joann Ariola’s decision to reverse her support for Romanch’s Law. Council Member Ariola was among the very first co-sponsors of this legislation, and her early commitment helped build the momentum that brought it to the brink of passage. By abandoning that commitment now, as the Council prepares to vote, she has failed the horses, the public, and the Mahajan family. The facts have not changed since Council Member Ariola first signed on. Romanch’s Law will end the use of horse carriages on New York City streets, protecting horses from a lifetime of labor in traffic, protecting the New Yorkers and visitors who share those streets, and providing a just transition for the workers in the industry. These were the reasons she supported this bill. Those reasons remain, and the need for this legislation has only grown more urgent. The only thing that has changed is Council Member Ariola’s position. Elected officials are accountable for the commitments they make, and walking away from one of this consequence, at this moment, will not go unnoticed by the voters who care deeply about this issue. Voters For Animal Rights stands unequivocally with Speaker Julie Menin, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the 29 other co-sponsors of Romanch’s Law, who have shown the courage and consistency this moment demands. They are on the right side of history. Above all, we stand with the family of Romanch Mahajan. In the midst of unimaginable grief, they have advocated tirelessly for this prohibition so that no other family has to endure the loss they have suffered. They have kept their word to New York City. Council Member Ariola should have kept hers.