Bill de Blasio has promised to banish carriage horses from Central Park “within the first week” if he become mayor — but when he was on the City Council and had a chance to sign on to similar legislation in 2007, he passed.
His change of heart made the public advocate a favorite of well-heeled animal-rights activists who have opened their wallets for him.
Records show that Steve Nislick, who co-founded the animal-rights group NYCLASS, has ponied up the maximum $4,950 for de Blasio’s campaign. Two other NYCLASS pals, Wendy and John Neu, have chipped in $9,900.
More importantly, the organization has spent $774,000 in ads against a key de Blasio Democratic rival, Christine Quinn.
De Blasio spokesman Dan Levitan said the candidate was “skeptical” about ending the carriage- horse tradition back in 2007.
But, “as he met with advocates who brought to his attention the conditions in the industry, he concluded that protecting the horses was more important than the tradition,” Levitan said.
So in March, at a mayoral forum, de Blasio said, “I would ban the horse carriages in Central Park within the first week on the job.”
Meanwhile, de Blasio’s campaign yesterday released an ad castigating Mayor Bloomberg as too focused on the rich.
“If you live on Park Avenue, you got everything you need — nannies and housekeepers . . . Bloomberg’s taken care of Wall Street, not middle-class people, working-class people, poor people,” the ad says.
But de Blasio admitted his own family had employed household help.