Two-thirds of Central Park’s carriage horses could soon get their galloping papers as part of a deal that would give the remaining steeds homes inside Central Park, sources said Tuesday.
Mayor de Blasio is close to an agreement with the Teamsters union, which represents horse drivers, to build stables in the park that would remove the animals from Midtown traffic, sources said.
But there is space for only about 75 of the 220 horses.
Representatives for the administration, the union and the City Council — which would have to approve any deal — said only that talks were continuing.
“We continue to have productive discussions to reach an equitable outcome for all parties involved,” the groups said in a joint statement. “We have not yet reached an agreement.”
The last wrinkle in the compromise plan released by the administration in November 2015 is whether and how to compensate the dozens of carriage drivers who would lose their jobs under the reduction, sources said.
A council vote could come in early February, according to the sources.
“The mayor wants to get this off his plate,” one of them said.
The issue has been an albatross for more than two years for de Blasio, who, as a candidate in 2013, promised to ban all the horses from the park.