{"id":272672,"date":"2025-10-02T19:49:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/272672\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T19:49:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T19:49:31","slug":"adams-shift-on-nyc-horse-carriage-ban-followed-meets-with-donor-who-favors-electric-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/272672\/","title":{"rendered":"Adams shift on NYC horse carriage ban followed meets with donor who favors electric alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, Mayor Adams gave no indication he would support outlawing New York City\u2019s horse carriage industry. In fact, on the 2021 campaign trail, he said he would as mayor oppose an outright ban<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then, last month, Adams suddenly voiced full-throated support for sunsetting the industry<\/a> \u2014 a flip-flop that came weeks after he and his top deputy met with a wealthy businessman who has long pushed for banning the horse-drawn carriages from Central Park and replacing them with electric alternatives, the Daily News has learned.<\/p>\n

The Florida businessman, Josh Fox, who\u2019s an Adams campaign donor, runs the Brady Hunter Foundation<\/a>, an animal welfare group that is trying to find a way to manufacture the type of electric carriages he believes would be more humane than the horse-drawn buggies.<\/p>\n

NYC Carriage Horses<\/p>\n

\"File-<\/p>\n

Seth Wenig\/AP<\/p>\n

This April 17, 2014, file photo shows a prototype of an electric carriage being displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig, File)<\/p>\n

One of Fox\u2019s top executives at his foundation, cryptocurrency industry lawyer Eric Lerner<\/a>, is an Adams campaign donor as well, contributing to his reelection run on the same day Fox did in July. Until recently, Lerner also helped run EmpowerNYC, the largest super PAC<\/a> that supported Adams\u2019 reelection run until he dropped out of the race last weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fox\u2019s push to ban the city\u2019s horse carriage industry dates back to at least 2023. To help get his proposal in front of city government officials at the time, sources familiar with the matter confirmed Fox hired Frank Carone, Adams\u2019 longtime political confidant who had at that time just resigned as the mayor\u2019s chief of staff to launch a lobbying firm<\/a>, Oaktree Solutions.<\/p>\n

The 2023 push with Carone fizzled without action from Adams, but Fox resurrected his effort this summer and managed to land a meeting with First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro in mid-August to discuss his electric carriage plan followed by a private dinner with Adams days later, a rep for Fox confirmed this week. The rep said the topic of horse carriages didn\u2019t come up during the dinner with Adams.<\/p>\n

\"FrankFrank Carone (Dia Dipasupil\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Still, days after the dinner, Adams on Sept. 17 announced his newfound support for a horse carriage ban. In the announcement<\/a>, Adams, without mentioning Fox\u2019s foundation, said the city\u2019s \u201copen to exploring a new program for electric carriages so New Yorkers and visitors can continue to enjoy the majesty of Central Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Kanfer, a rep for Fox, said he has no financial interest in pushing to replace the horse carriage industry with an electric system because his goal has only been to identify a way to build the vehicles, fund manufacturing and then donate the products.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is focused on helping animals and children and supporting those in need,\u201d Kanfer said. \u201cAs a nonprofit, we are not, and never have been, seeking to profit from our work; our sole focus is making a positive difference in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lerner, a director of special projects at Fox\u2019s foundation, told The News this week he didn\u2019t join Fox at the meetings with Mastro and the mayor but acknowledged he continues to work on the electric carriage efforts.<\/p>\n

The PAC Lerner helped run raised more than $2.5 million to support Adams\u2019 reelection run. Lerner also helped organize<\/a> Adams\u2019 \u201cCrypto Summit<\/a>\u201d at Gracie Mansion this past May.<\/p>\n

Since Adams abandoned his reelection bid last weekend<\/a> amid continued fallout from his dismissed corruption case and surrounding controversies, it\u2019s unclear if he has the political capital to push through a ban before he leaves office Jan. 1. Abolishing carriage horses would require approval from the City Council, where sources say there\u2019s likely not enough appetite to act quickly on a ban.<\/p>\n

In public, Adams has explained his abrupt shift on the issue by saying he was moved to act after seeing a video of a Central Park carriage horse breaking loose and running panicked through the streets of Midtown.<\/p>\n

But the behind-the-scenes details unearthed by The News show how Adams\u2019 reversal on the horse carriage issue also came right after Fox and at least one other politically connected pro-carriage ban actor got involved.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Barry Williams\/New York Daily News<\/p>\n

A horse drawn carriage makes it way through Central Park. (Barry Williams\/New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

In mid-August, around the same time Fox met with Mastro, Jason Goldman, a senior strategic adviser<\/a> for Carone\u2019s firm, registered to start lobbying city government officials on behalf of NYCLASS, the main group that has for years advocated for a carriage ban in the city, records reviewed by The News show.<\/p>\n

NYCLASS\u2019 founder, real estate executive Steve Nislick, who signed the lobbying contract with Goldman, said Tuesday he has been in touch with Fox as part of the efforts to topple the horse carriage industry.<\/p>\n

Goldman, who used to be ex-City Council Speaker Corey Johnson\u2019s chief of staff, declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Carone, who served as Adams\u2019 reelection campaign head until he dropped out, said Tuesday his 2023 work for Fox focused on developing a marketing scheme for electric carriages. He said he hasn\u2019t worked on Fox\u2019s latest engagements with Adams\u2019 administration or spoken with the businessman in roughly a year.<\/p>\n

Carone also said Goldman\u2019s lobbying for Nislick isn\u2019t an Oaktree venture, as he\u2019s doing that work via a separate entity, JMG Strategies, with a particular focus on targeting Council members.<\/p>\n

The revelations about the Fox effort are drawing renewed ire from the Transport Workers Union<\/a>, which represents Central Park\u2019s horse carriage drivers and has accused Adams of stiffing workers to benefit powerful business interests by seeking a ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most unholy of alliances,\u201d Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen told The News this week.<\/p>\n

\"JohnTransport Workers Union (TWU) President John Samuelsen. (Photo by Alex Wong\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak defended the decision by Mastro and the mayor to meet with Fox, saying it was part of efforts to engage with stakeholders on both sides of the issue. Mamelak also said neither the mayor nor Mastro has spoken to Carone about the horse carriage issue this year.<\/p>\n

Animal-rights groups like Fox\u2019s foundation have long urged the city to outlaw the carriage industry due to concerns about the health and safety of the horses. The Transport Workers Union has countered a ban would deprive its members of their livelihoods while arguing there are ways to ensure the safety of the animals without abolishing the industry, leading to a years-long often acrimonious stalemate between the two sides.<\/p>\n

This time around, ban supporters got an opening on Aug. 12 when Adams directed Mastro<\/a> to explore whether there could be a \u201cbetter path forward\u201d for the industry. Adams tasked Mastro with that responsibility even though the top City Hall aide used to represent NYCLASS as a private practice attorney, court records show.<\/p>\n

\"FirstFirst Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

The day after Mastro got his assignment, The News has learned he met privately on Aug. 13 with Fox, whose foundation has tried to phase out horse carriage industries in cities across the country, its website says.<\/p>\n

Initially, Samuelsen, the Transport Workers Union\u2019s head, said he had expected to meet with Fox and Mastro on Aug. 14 to discuss the state of the industry.<\/p>\n

But Samuelsen said the Aug. 14 meeting only ended up including himself and Mastro after Fox emailed he couldn\u2019t make it because of a conflict. Samuelsen said Mastro<\/a> never told him he had met with Fox the day before their meeting.<\/p>\n

In his meeting with Mastro, Fox \u2014 who had weeks earlier donated $1,000 to Adams\u2019 reelection campaign on July 5 \u2014 advocated for a carriage ban and provided the first deputy with an update on his foundation\u2019s \u201cdesign and manufacturing\u201d of electric wagons, said Kanfer, Fox\u2019s rep who also attended that sitdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe discussed the possibility of potentially donating [an electric carriage] to the city when it\u2019s finally done to see if it could catch on as a viable alternative,\u201d Kanfer said, though he added the talks didn\u2019t get into any potential city contract for electric carriages.<\/p>\n

Mamelak also said there\u2019s been no commitments about a contract for Fox\u2019s foundation or other electric carriage manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Days after his Mastro meeting, Fox had his private dinner with Adams, Kanfer said, though he added he couldn\u2019t provide the exact date. Kanfer said there were about 20 other people at the dinner, but wouldn\u2019t identify them.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: October 2, 2025 at 10:30 AM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, Mayor Adams gave no indication he would support outlawing New York City\u2019s horse carriage industry. In…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":272673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,141386,13239,141385,141384,19039,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,75294,98663,90195,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-272672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-brady-hunter-foundation","10":"tag-city-hall","11":"tag-horse-carriage-industry","12":"tag-josh-fox","13":"tag-mayor-adams","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-randy-mastro","21":"tag-transport-workers-union","22":"tag-twu","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115306310512713912","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}