MAYOR SAYS NEIGH

Hedges on horse ban

After nearly two years of battling unsuccessfully to ban horse carriages from Central Park, Mayor de Blasio is now pushing a compromise that would reduce their number by twothirds, sources said Tuesday.

But the proposal, which would house the remaining 70 to 80 horses in new stables inside the park so they don’t travel on busy Midtown streets, is already generating stiff opposition.

“I completely disagree with it,” said Ian McKeever, a carriage driver in the Teamsters Union, which has been fighting with the mayor to protect the industry and its 230 horses.

“To me, that’s going to ruin our business,” McKeever added of the proposal. “It’s all or nothing for us.” The Central Park Conservancy, which oversees the park, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As a mayoral candidate, de Blasio promised in 2013 to abolish the horsecarriage industry “on Day One” of his administration.

His campaign got a big boost from animalrights activists, who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to an independent politicalaction committee that targeted chief rival Christine Quinn, the former City Council speaker.

The two most prolific donors, former Edison Properties owner Steve Nislick and business executive Wendy Neu, together contributed $628,000 to those PACS, to de Blasio’s campaign and to his current Campaign for One New York nonprofit.

Neither Nislick nor Neu returned calls seeking comment.

De Blasio said he is still working with the City Council, which would have to approve his plan before it could be implemented.

An earlier version of a bill that sought an outright ban didn’t garner nearly enough support.

“There’s a legislative process going on. There’s a lot of give and take, and we are seeking common ground so we can get something done,” de Blasio told reporters at an unrelated press conference at Penn Station in Manhattan.