Private investigators are tailing carriage-horse drivers as they loop around Central Park — the latest and most bizarre chapter in the escalating war against the besieged buggy-men, The Post has learned.
“It was unnerving,” said rattled carriage horseman Bryan Northam. “He followed me on three short rides through the park. When I went home that night, I looked out my window to see if they were downstairs.”
The drivers, under fire since Mayor de Blasio vowed during his 2013 campaign to vanquish the more-than-100-year-old tradition from the park, said they first noticed the surveillance on Dec. 17.
Suspicious-looking vehicles either followed the carriages through Central Park or were parked for hours in spaces specially designated for the horsemen at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, drivers said.
Northam said he was even followed all the way to the stable at 52nd Street between 11th and 12th avenues.
The cars included SUVs and black sedans with tinted windows, but one apparent spy used two wheels to hound the drivers.
“One fellow got on a Citi Bike and followed a carriage right through the park, taking footage with a camcorder,” one carriage driver said. “It was pretty odd behavior.”
At least one of the vehicles captured on film by videographer Sandi Bachom belongs to a Long Island-based PI, a source confirmed. But it is unclear who sicced the private eyes on Mr. Ed.
He followed me on three short rides through the park. When I went home that night, I looked out my window to see if they were downstairs.
- Bryan Northam, carriage horseman
“They are here to monitor us,” said a second carriage horseman, who confronted one of the spies. “He said we should be extra careful and do everything above-board — watch the lights, watch the U-turns.”
The surveillance continued until Dec. 20, a Saturday — when only authorized vehicles are allowed in the park — leading some to speculate it was an NYPD tail or was made at the behest of Hizzoner.
“The car in Sandi’s video was in the park on a Saturday, when the park is closed to traffic except authorized vehicles. Which means either they were OK with risking a ticket or had approval to be there from the city,” one driver said.
“I saw one of them in our assigned spots, and I asked him if he was ‘on the job,’ ” said a third carriage driver, referring to police lingo for being a cop.
“He said, ‘Actually, we are watching you — so just be aware,” the carriage driver said.
A police source denied any involvement by the NYPD, saying it does not monitor the activity of horse carriages other than to the extent that they may be involved in any specific criminal violations.
“We are not conducting general video surveillance of them,” the source said. The mayor’s office also bucked at the suggestion Hizzoner was behind the tail.
“This is out of some fantasy world,” said de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell. “There’s no truth to it whatsoever.”
his is out of some fantasy world… There’s no truth to it whatsoever.
- Wiley Norvell, de Blasio spokesman
Anti-horse-carriage group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets denied any responsibility.
“With their unsafe and inhumane practices exposed and the mayor planning a ban, it’s unfortunate industry leaders are falsely accusing us of this surveillance,” said Steve Nislick, NYCLASS president.
Recently introduced legislation in the City Council would ban the carriages as of May 2016. Buggy-backers say the ban would put some 350 jobs out to pasture.
“The people who want to put these workers out of a job should stop playing ‘gotcha’ and find animals that actually need their help,” said George Miranda, president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, which represents the carriage drivers.