Mayor Bill de Blasio wanted to get rid of a New York City tradition for over 150 years, horse carriage rides. Thanks to support from outside sources and a Hollywood personality, those horse carriage rides might be able to continue.

The new Mayor, in his fourth month in office, vowed to challenge the horse carriage industry right away. He calls carriage rides inhumane for the horses.

Due to outside pressure, and at the urge of the City Council, de Blasio is slowing down his efforts.

Even more pressure hit de Blasio recently. Actor Liam Neeson and the media are calling for the horses to stay. He says they are a romantic and iconic part of New York and that the horses are treated with respect.

"I can appreciate a happy and well-cared-for horse when I see one," Neeson wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times. "It has been my experience, always, that horses, much like humans, are at their happiest and healthiest when working." 

Even city unions who usually take de Blassio's side are asking for the horse-drawn carriage industry to stay in business. They say hundreds of jobs are at risk, and so are tourism dollars.

New Yorkers want the horses to stay, at least near Central Park. Almost two thirds of those surveyed say they'd like for the horse carriage rides to continue.

An option given by de Blassio that would eliminate the horse carriage rides but keep the drivers employed includes old-style electric cars instead of horses. 

New York area newspapers criticized de Blasio's urge to get rid of the horses. New York Daily News already has over 11,000 online signatures to a "Save our Horses" campaign.

But, de Blassio has the backing of animal rights activists and PETA. In fact, PETA is using celebrities in their campaign too, choosing Alec Baldwin and Pink.

"I've said it many times over the last year so let me try one more time: I believe it's inhumane," de Blasio said last week. "Horses working on the streets of New York City ... it's not right. We should change it."