New York City, New York — Parkgoers out for an evening stroll in Central Park on Tuesday witnessed something they won’t soon forget — a carriage horse collapsing mid-ride and dying within seconds.
The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. near 72nd Street and Central Park West, and it has reignited a fierce debate over the future of New York City’s carriage horse industry.
‘I Feel Like I Lost Someone From My Family’
The horse, a 16-year-old named Deniz, belonged to carriage driver Nurettin Kirbiyik. He was in the middle of giving a ride when Deniz suddenly went down.
“In two seconds, horse died. Just shake and I feel like he’s going to pee. He just died,” Kirbiyik said. “I lose like somebody from my family.”
Witness Clara Bermudz was nearby when it happened.
“I was going on a run, and I saw a horse on the floor struggling to breathe,” she said. “Moments later, the carriage horse stopped breathing.”
Another witness, Danielle Leeann Chin, said she was still shaking when she spoke about what she saw.
“This is the second time that I’ve seen a horse carriage incident in 10 months,” she said.
Necropsy Planned at Cornell
Kirbiyik and a spokesperson for TWU Local 100 — the union representing carriage horse drivers — said Deniz had been in good health and had visited the vet as recently as January.
TWU Local 100 spokesperson Christina Hansen called the death a sudden medical emergency.
Deniz will be transported to Cornell University for a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death.
Hansen pushed back against accusations that carriage horses are overworked.
“These horses are literally strolling in the park,” she said. “This is an easy job for horses.”
Renewed Push for Ryder’s Law
The incident has given fresh urgency to advocates pushing to ban horse carriages in New York City altogether.
The nonprofit NYCLASS — New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets — is calling on city leaders to pass Ryder’s Law, named after a horse that collapsed on a Manhattan street in 2022 and died months later.
“This is a nightmare,” said NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant. “We have got to pass Ryder’s Law this year. We have another horse that dropped dead in an agonizing death. We’ve had six violent incidents.”
The City Council Committee on Health voted against Ryder’s Law back in November. NYCLASS has scheduled a rally for Wednesday afternoon on the steps of City Hall to push for the law’s reintroduction.
The debate over New York City’s carriage horse industry is far from over — and Tuesday’s tragedy has made sure of that.
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