Supporters and opponents of horse carriage rides slung manure at each other Wednesday as tensions mount over legislation in the City Council to outlaw the industry.
The horse play started when a lawyer for New Yorkers for Clean Livable and Safe Streets sent a threatening “cease and desist” letter to the heads of the Transport Workers Union, who represent horse carriage drivers, claiming they are making “false and defamatory” statements about NYCLASS’ founders and threatening litigation if they don’t stop.
International TWU president John Samuelsen and Local 100 leader Tony Utano claim that NYCLASS co-founders Steven Nislick and Wendy Neu are using their campaign to ban horse carriages — an animal rights cause — as a ruse to promote real estate interests.
“You have made wild allegations that Mr. Nislick and Ms. Neu are using the campaign to end horse carriage abuse as a cover to develop land where the current horse stables exist in Manhattan,” NYCLASS attorney Akiva Shapiro said in the letter to Samuelsen and Utano.
“TWU and carriage horse owners have never presented a single piece of evidence for these false accusations—and in fact, one of the stables on 48th Street has been up for sale for years and neither Mr. Nislick nor Ms. Neu has shown any interest in purchasing these properties,” the lawyer, who works with former deputy mayor Randy Mastro at Gibson Dunn said.
The letter to the TWU bosses said the NYCLASS founders have made an “ironclad pledge” not to get involved with any development projects where the Hell’s Kitchen midtown stables are located and even offered to sign a memo with the TWU representing horse carriage drivers to pump $50 million into the union pension fund if they break the commitment.
“They will sign an agreement stating that, even if the stables were offered to them for free, they would not accept ownership of the land in any shape or form. This agreement will be enforceable by law,” Shapiro said.
“I therefore reiterate that you and other TWU officials and representatives must immediately cease and desist from making any further malicious, unsupported, false statements about NYCLASS, Mr. Nislick and Ms. Neu, which leave you open to a claim for defamation. My clients reserve all rights to pursue their legal remedies.”
The Post previously reported that the buildings where the four horse stables are located could potentially fetch a fortune if put on the market.
The TWU leaders dismissed the letter as horse manure from out of touch rich people.
“This is an epic battle between the unionized blue collar caretakers of the Central Park horses and gazillionaires who believe they can buy the advancement of their political-social agenda. And average everyday New Yorkers stand with carriage drivers and their horses,” said Samuelsen.
Utano said, “We have 14-and-15-year old kids getting shot and killed on our streets, transit workers who are regularly assaulted on our buses and in the subway, families that are getting priced out of their own neighborhoods, and other major problems.
“It’s amazing this group is still obsessed with banning horses that spend 99% of their time outside their stables in beautiful Central Park.”
Legislation was introduced in the City Council last week that, if passed, would ban horse carriages in and around Central Park and replace them with electric carriages by June 1, 2024.
