NYC Carriage Company Asked to Vacate Stables

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One of New York's carriage companies is seeking new stables for nearly 30 horses during their busiest time of the year. The reason? Urban development.

Eric Bederman, press secretary for the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), said the current 31-stall Shamrock Stables location sits squarely on the city-owned footprint of planned multi-use construction.

"This project, which has been in the works for years, will add 1,300 new units of housing, with almost half being 'permanently affordable' homes, plus 10,000 square feet of retail space and a new public school that doubles the capacity of the existing one," said Bederman.

But why the relocation during December, traditionally the busiest month for New York's carriage industry? According to HPD, the project's demolition phase has been scheduled during the school's 2010 summer break for safety reasons, and a deadline was needed to get the stable relocation process under way. However, they anticipate that the horses will remain in place through year-end.

Shamrock Stables co-owner Ian McKeever said they're trying to find a solution. "We're working with the City to find a suitable place for us to go to, and to be sure we can operate through the holidays," he said.

Founded in 1968, Shamrock Stables has been in their current building since 2000, under a short-term revocable lease with the city; they were moved from a prior location due to highway repair. HPD's pre-construction environmental impact study indicates that several local stables have sufficient capacity to provide housing for the Shamrock carriage horses.