Horse Carriage Owners Sue City For Moving Pickup Zones

CENTRAL PARK, NY — New York City horse carriage owners are suing over a planned relocation of passenger pickup zones from outside Central Park to inside the park.

Moving carriage pickups from Central Park South and Grand Army Plaza to inside the park "will decimate the horse-drawn carriage industry," four carriage owners claimed in a lawsuit filed Monday in state supreme court. Carriage owners Stephen Malone, Ian McKeever, Colm McKeever and Paul McDaid also argue that the rules pose danger to horses, drivers and parkgoers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's Department of Transportation proposed a rule change in August that would relocate horse carriage slack lines to three of Central Park's busiest entrances to eliminate interactions between horses and cars on city streets.

"By limiting boarding of horse-drawn cabs to designated areas within Central Park, the amount of time that horses spend alongside vehicular traffic will be reduced – thus reducing potential harm to the animals," Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement when the change was proposed.

But carriage operators say the DOT has "absolutely no experience when it comes to horses or regulation of the carriage industry. The owners' lawsuit cites an affidavit provided by Joseph Bertone, a veterinarian who specializes in horses, which states that if carriage horses are not given time to acclimate to new pickup lines the chances of a horse, driver or passenger being injured will increase.

The horse owners also claim that the new pickup zones designated by the city won't be large enough to accommodate all the carriages, leaving some horses in a precarious position. City officials said in August that the new zones provide the same amount of space for pickups as current slacklines on Central Park South and Grand Army Plaza.

New pickup zones will be located at the following locations:

• Grand Army Plaza: The center lane at the Grand Army Plaza entrance on Fifth Avenue and East 60th Street.
• Sixth Avenue: Within the park entrance north of Central Park South.
• Seventh Avenue Entrance: The east curb, about 20 feet from Central Park South.

Horse carriage owners also take issue with how the new rules were created. The City Council, not the mayor, is in charge of regulating New York City's horse carriage industry through legislation, according to the lawsuit filed Monday.

Animal advocacy group NYCLASS, who have long made it a goal to abolish the horse carriage industry, described the carriage owner's lawsuit as "frivolous."

"Now that Central Park is car free, there is no question that the carriage horses will be safer, cooler and better off in the park," NYCLASS Spokesman Chris Coffey said in a statement.

A city Law Department spokesman defended the proposed rule change, citing a previous court order that "allowed the city to proceed with preparations necessary to ready the new horse carriage pickup sites within Central Park."

The lawsuit is expected to be heard in court on Feb. 8.

"The City is hopeful that at that appearance the Court will allow the new regulations to go fully into effect," city Law Department Spokesman Christian Madrid said in a statement.

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