Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

News

New Deal Would Allow NYC Carriage Horses To Live & Work In Central Park Only

Jen Chung

Published Jan 18, 2016

Modified Jan 19, 2016

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Getty Images

View all 5

Jen Chung

Published Jan 18, 2016

Modified Jan 19, 2016

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

After months of speculation, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that an "agreement in concept" has been reached in the great NYC carriage horse debate: The number of horses will eventually decrease from 220 to 75 by 2018, and all horses will work—and reside in new stables—in Central Park.

A joint statement from de Blasio; City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; and several reps from the Teamsters union, which organizes the carriage drivers, reads, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement in concept on the future of New York's horse carriage industry. We look forward to working together on the final details of this legislation and getting this passed."

Besides keeping the horses in the park and the city paying for the new stables, the Daily News reports, "Horses will be banned from traveling the streets outside Central Park, except when going to and from their current stables, starting in June... The number of horses will drop from the current 180 to 110 by December, and to 95 when new stables open in the park."

According to the NY Times, "The deal comes with an unexpected twist: Pedicabs, the oft-lamented tricycles that ply tourists, would be banned from operating inside Central Park below 85th Street, eliminating a chief competitor of the carriage industry."

Other elements of the proposed deal include, according to the News: "The number of hours a horse can work a day will drop to nine. Drivers will be allowed to charge an extra $5 for rides after 6 p.m. between Nov. 15 and Jan. 5. The surcharge will also apply on Valentine's Day and Easter. Horses not currently at work will be required to furlough outside the city."

Those calling for the end of carriage horses say the horses are overworked and endangered by city traffic, and point to various examples of "spooked horses." Activists working to ban the industry were among de Blasio's biggest donors during the 2013 mayoral campaign, and, before being elected, de Blasio promised to ban carriage horses as soon as he got to office.

However, some who work in the carriage horse industry allege that their well-financed critics have ulterior movies. The most prominent opposition group, NYCLASS ("New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets"), was founded by Steve Nislick, who owns parking garage behemoth Edison Properties, and Wendy Neu, CEO of electronics recycling firm Hugo Neu. In 2014, the News cited anonymous speculation from carriage horse drivers that "Nislick’s real interest is in grabbing the far West Side land where their stables sit."

Update: Nislick emphatically denies that he has any hidden agenda to further enrich himself through a carriage horse ban, and in a letter to the Daily News, wrote, "I will not reap any financial gain — from real estate or otherwise — by the city removing the carriage horses off dangerous city streets. Let me go one further: If asked to participate in any way that benefits me financially, I will not do it."

The Mayor has blamed the City Council for blocking his attempts to ban carriage horses. And it turns out New Yorkers actually like them.

This deal probably won't make anyone happy. Tupper Thomas, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, told the Times, "This was not the way public parkland was intended to be used. Building something in Central Park for a private business does not seem like the appropriate answer to this issue. There are a lot of questions about this proposal that have to be looked at carefully."

And the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages's president, Elizabeth Forel, said, "The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is opposed to the new Mayor deBlasio deal, which preserves the carriage trade at the expense of the horses and smells like a convenient real estate deal to us. Street traffic was never the sole reason we advocated for a ban. There are many other reasons including the sensitive, nervous nature of the horses; the very high turnover, which leads us to believe many of the unwanted go to the kill auctions, and punishing working conditions. Putting the stables in Central Park, which may be illegal, is not going to relieve this and may just exacerbate it because all the abuses will now be within the park and not so noticeable."

The City Council may have a hearing about the proposed deal this week.

Tagged

campaign promise

carriage horse

carriage horse industry

carriage horses

mayor de blasio

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn

Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.

Rosemary Misdary

Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET

Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Samantha Max

News

Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say

A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.

Samantha Max

Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time

David Brand

School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year

Jessica Gould

NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them

Clayton Guse

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .