Trample deal, say horsemen

THE OWNERS of 68 horse carriage medallions have come out against the bill to move the industry into Central Park — and are blasting their union for agreeing to the deal with City Hall they say will kill their business.

The group, which collectively owns every horse medallion in the city, voted Saturday night to unite against the deal, said one of them, Ian McKeever.

“This is my livelihood, and we’ve got to protect ourselves,” said McKeever, who is also a horse driver.

He said the owners are angry at the Teamsters, the union that negotiated for them in talks with Mayor de Blasio and the City Council, because they never asked them what they thought of the deal before announcing the “agreement in principle” that moved the industry to Central Park.

“The union let us down,” said McKeever. “We always felt once you’re part of a union, and they’re negotiating on our behalf, they’d come back to us, but they never did.”

Teamsters leader Demos Demopoulos said the union negotiated with the best interests of the drivers in mind.

“Carriage drivers were involved in every stage of this negotiation. Nothing was put on the table without consultation and input from carriage drivers. They had representatives in negotiation meetings,” he said.

The vote by the medallion owners is the first sign of a split between the industry and the Teamsters over the bill to move the carriages into a stable in Central Park.

That bill would also downsize the industry starting at the end of this year.

The drivers say they can’t afford to start downsizing until the stables open, which will be at the end of 2018 at the latest.

It’s unclear what impact their opposition will have on the bill, which will likely be voted on Friday.

Meanwhile, City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) is calling for a delay in the vote until “a proper study has been undertaken and all outstanding questions have been resolved.”

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito supports the deal, and her office said there was no plan to move the vote.

This is my livelihood, and we’ve got to protect ourselves. The union let us down.

Ian McKeever, carriage owner