Union Sues Animal Advocacy Group Over Alleged Smear Campaign

A prominent union representing Central Park’s carriage horse drivers has launched a lawsuit against the animal advocacy organization NYCLASS. The union claims NYCLASS is engaging in a multimillion-dollar smear campaign designed to push the carriage industry out of New York City.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU) alleges that NYCLASS has been misleading the public for years, presenting carriage drivers as abusive through a series of “malicious lies and misinformation.” This accusation includes false narratives surrounding the death of a horse that collapsed on the streets of New York, according to the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court.

“NYCLASS has promoted a false narrative for far too long,” stated TWU International President John Samuelsen. “To paint the entire working class, most of whom are immigrants seeking the American Dream, as animal abusers is simply untrue.”

The lawsuit argues that the advocacy group has unfairly exploited the deaths of two carriage horses, named Lady and Aisha, who passed away in 2025 and 2020, respectively. Medical records indicate that one horse died of natural causes while the other succumbed to an undiagnosed illness. Nonetheless, NYCLASS claimed negligence played a role in their deaths via social media.

Documents reveal that Aisha had received a clean bill of health a few months before her untimely death. However, NYCLASS contended that her trainers should have noticed potential warning signs.

According to the TWU, the animal cruelty allegations have gained considerable traction, serving as a basis for the proposed Rider Act. If passed, this City Council bill would eliminate horse-drawn carriages in Central Park altogether.

Mayor Eric Adams lent his support to this ban, issuing an executive order in September to address the “increasingly contradictory” elements of Old New York following incidents involving runaway horses.

NYCLASS executive director Edita Bernkrant claimed that the public has witnessed horses collapsing or becoming agitated in traffic, noting that other cities are moving to ban horse-drawn carriages to enhance public safety and animal welfare.

Additionally, New York Class is accused in the lawsuit of spreading a “pattern of lies” about carriage owners allegedly sending horses to slaughter. The union claims that Bernard, a lame horse discovered at a livestock auction in 2024, was misrepresented, being sold as a riding horse by a driver after originally being identified as a carriage horse.

The union is seeking damages of up to $1 million, asserting that NYCLASS has sabotaged their business operation by disseminating false claims to the public, targeting both existing and potential customers.

Moreover, the union highlighted NYCLASS’s real estate interests, referring to a pamphlet that suggests replacing horse-drawn carriages could, quite ironically, create substantial profits for the horse-drawn carriage industry through the sale of stables, which could generate nearly $2 million in city tax revenue.

Stephen Nislick, founder and president of NYCLASS, has a history in real estate and has been a long-time opponent of the carriage industry. However, NYCLASS stated it would not partake in any redeveloping projects concerning the stables if Nislick’s agenda comes to fruition, insisting that he would not engage in any related development.