NYC Carriage Horse Killed By Toxic Plant, Prompting Finger Pointing

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The Central Park carriage horse that sent shockwaves throughout New York City when he collapsed and died last week ate a lethal quantity of a poisonous Japanese yew plant, the union representing the carriage drivers said on Tuesday.

According to the NYPD, Deniz collapsed and died while giving two people a ride around 7:30 p.m. on June 9 at West 72nd Street and West Drive.

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The Transit Workers Union, which represents the carriage drivers, said the results of the necropsy dispel the belief that the 16-year-old horse was worked to death.

Instead, the group says they blame the Central Park Conservancy for planting shrubs poisonous to animals without telling the drivers.

"Deniz’s tragic death was not caused by neglect or abuse or the fact he was a carriage horse – as some animal rights activists and elected officials claimed," TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said. "Poor Deniz died because the people running the Park Conservancy never warned anyone that there were deadly yew plants in the park. This is negligence at the highest level of the Conservancy."

However, the Central Park Conservancy says it's the driver's negligence, not the park's stewards, that led to the horse's tragic death.

"TWU has now demonstrated how their own negligence has resulted in this unfortunate incident, since NYC Parks rules plainly forbid horses from eating vegetation anywhere across our 843 acres," the not-for-profit organization said in a statement.

"The same rule requires carriage drivers and operators to attend to their horses at all times in order to keep them safe and healthy. Perhaps if they had, Deniz would not have suffered as he did, and died," the Conservancy said.

Deniz's death renewed calls to ban the horse-drawn carriage rides from New York City.

This past August, a carriage horse named Lady collapsed and died in Hell's Kitchen, just weeks after a New York jury acquitted carriage horse driver Ian McKeever of animal abuse charges for Ryder, a 30-year-old carriage horse who collapsed while on the job and later had to be put down.

A City Council bill from 2024, named for Ryder, would ban the practice altogether, but it didn't pass.

Councilmember Chris Marte said in a joint statement with Julie Cappiello, the president of Voters for Animal Rights, that he'd reintroduced Ryder's Law in City Council following Deniz's collapse.

"Council Member Marte will introduce Ryder’s Law, legislation to transition New York City away from horse-drawn carriages and toward a safer, more humane future," the June 9 statement reads.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.