Carriage horses, a longtime tourist draw here, would be confined to Central Park but their operators would be allowed to stay in business under a preliminary agreement announced Sunday night.
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“We are pleased to have reached an agreement in concept on the future of New York’s horse carriage industry”, the mayor said in a joint statement with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, which represented the drivers.
A spokesperson for NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets), one of the groups pushing for a carriage ban, said its officials want to see the legislation before giving a statement about the deal. Because of this, the number of carriages has been reduced by nearly a half, marked at 110 vehicles in comparison to the former 180. Building a stable will limit the horses’ exposure to exhaust fumes and the risk of collision with street traffic.
The agreement would also limit the operation of horse-drawn carriages to Central Park.
-Requires the establishment of a stable within Central Park by October 1, 2018. Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages questioned the decision to house the horses on public land and stated that she remains opposed to any solutions that don’t advocate for a full ban on horse-drawn carriages, according to the Associated Press. Once the stable is complete, the number of licensed horses will drop to 95 with 75 of the horses living in the stable.
Malone, a horse-carriage driver since 1987, has disputed these claims, saying the “horses lead exceedingly great lives here” and that they are not overworked, with all horses getting at least five weeks of vacation time. Drivers may also charge an extra $5 after 6 p.m. between November 15 and January 5.
When de Blasio was sworn in two years ago, he pledged to end the popular carriage rides through the park right away, calling it inhumane to keep horses in loud, car-clogged Manhattan.
Horses not at work must be on furlough outside the city, and no carriage can operate for longer than nine hours a day by December 1.
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The City Parks Department and Department of Transportation would consult with carriage industry leaders to designate hack stands in Central Park at visible park entrances by June 1.
