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Queens Councilman Tony Avella says that Manhattan's horse-drawn carriages and modern city traffic are not meant to co-exist.

"You know, enough is enough. It's time for this industry to end," said Avella.

He plans to make his co-sponsored pitch to ban horse-drawn carriages at a City Council hearing on Friday.

He says carriage horses endure "inhumane" treatment.

"You're talking about having a horse drive around on the hard pavement of city streets for eight or nine hours every day in all sorts of weather," said Avella. "And even though there are regulations about when they're not supposed to be on the streets, these drivers, the owners don't care. "

The carriage drivers do not think their work is cruelty.

"It's ridiculous what he's saying and what he's doing," said Colm Glennon, who has driven a carriage, pulled by his horse Bobby, for 12 years.

Glennon says the horses stay inside when the weather's bad and balks at the suggestion that any of the horses is mistreated.

"The horses are not abused at all. The ASPCA and a lot of people have access to the stables at any time to check out and look at the horses," said Glennon. "The horses are all registered with the city, they're very well looked after."

Road safety is another concern, as there have been several well-publicized horse carriage accidents in recent years.

In 2006, a frightened horse started racing in the street in Hell's Kitchen before crashing into a car. A year later, a horse named Smoothie was spooked by a snare drum, ran into a tree and died.

The bill to ban horse-drawn carriages is being backed by a prominent animal rights advocate group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"Tradition has never justified cruelty," said Michael McGraw of PETA. "If it did, we'd still have slavery, women wouldn't have the right to vote, there'd be no equal access for the handicapped. So as a society, we need to bear this in mind - this is progress."

The Horse and Carriage Association of New York did not respond to NY1's request for an interview.

Avella's bill is not yet scheduled for a vote, and city officials will not comment on legislation before hearings are held.