Mayor de Blasio is charging ahead with plans to corral most of Central Park’s carriage horses, even though a deal he spent months negotiating suddenly fell apart, sources said Friday.
The sources said mayoral aides are floating a new scheme to City Council members, who are flabbergasted and angry at being drawn into the contentious carriage-horse debate again.
“This is so bewildering that the mayor won’t give up on the issue after wasting political capital,” said one source.
“Council members who’ve been longtime allies are like, ‘What the F?’ They’re like, ‘Does someone have a smoking gun on him?’ ”
The mayor thought he had locked in a deal to revamp the popular industry, reducing its size and removing the horses from Midtown streets, only to see the Teamsters union pull out 24 hours before a scheduled council vote.
The Teamsters represent carriage drivers.
Under a new plan the administration is peddling, pedicabs would not be barred from Central Park below 85th Street, a provision in the original deal that rattled some labor leaders and legislators.
A City Hall operative said the mayor is “very unhappy” with council Speaker Melissa Mark- Viverito for not pushing through the original bill.
Mark-Viverito said Friday that the council is “moving forward” and “not entertaining” any horse-carriage bills at present.
De Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell denied any new proposals are being floated.