Central Park Carriage Horse Died After Eating Toxic Plant Union Says
The Transport Workers Union is attempting to dispute the narrative that the horse carriage trade, which the City Council could ban, is a form of animal abuse. Now, they argue that a new toxicology report on a recent carriage horse death bolsters their case.
| 16 Jun 2026 | 06:10
The Transport Workers Union says that Deniz, a horse who dramatically collapsed and died in Central Park earlier this month, was killed by a toxic plant—and not animal abuse, as some charge. (
)
The executive director of NYCLASS, an organization supporting a City Council bill that would ban the carriage trade in NYC, described Deniz’s death (above) as “a nightmare.” (
)
A horse that dramatically collapsed and died in Central Park last week was poisoned by a flower planted in Central Park, the union representing New York carriage drivers has charged.
The passing of the 16-year-old steed Deniz has caused an uproar among some animal rights activists, as well as politicians, who are trying to ban the carriage trade in New York City. It also resulted in some instances of racist and violent online abuse against the horses longtime owner, Nurettin Kirbiyik.
After footage circulated of the June 9 incident, Kirbiyik expressed “shock” over the horse’s death via a statement issued by the Transport Workers Union, adding that a recent veterinary trip had determined that the horse was in good health. He noted that he had shampooed, groomed, and showered the horse on a daily basis since purchasing him around a decade ago.
Now, the TWU says that a necropsy of Deniz conducted by Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine—which they described as an “esteemed” institution—has determined that the horse had consumed a Japanese yew.
The TWU added that this “non-native” and “ornamental” plant is toxic to horses and other animals alike, and slammed the Central Park Conservancy for planting them around East 90th Street, where Deniz was reportedly witnessed eating one. He collapsed not long thereafter, with symptoms resembling a cardiac arrest, which can be caused by yew poisoning.
“Deniz’s tragic death was not caused by neglect or abuse or the fact he was a carriage horse–as some animal rights activists and elected officials claimed,” TWU Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said in a statement.
“Poor Deniz died because the people running the Park Conservancy never warned anyone that there were deadly yew plants in the park. This is negligence at the highest level of the Conservancy,” Kemp added.
The Central Park Conservancy, which had been neutral for years on the horse carriage trade, recently indicated it was supporting Ryder’s Law, a City Council bill that would ban carriage horses.
Ryder’s Law is currently being spearheaded by City Council Member Christopher Marte, who represents Lower Manhattan. The bill is named after a horse who collapsed and died in Hell’s Kitchen back in 2022. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also on board supporting Ryder’s Law. So far the City Council has not jumped on the bandwagon. A previous version of the bill died in committee last year.
The release of the toxicology report has sparked a new debate between the union and the activists who seek to banish the carriage horses.
The TWU slammed NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant and City Council Members Frank Moreno and Chris Marte. NYCLASS has led the charge in trying to galvanize support for Ryder’s Law. The TWU is currently suing the organization for defamation.
“Birnkrant repeatedly and shamelessly accuse our largely immigrant group of carriage drivers of animal abuse, and politicians like Councilman Christoper Marte and Frank Moreno amplify such harmful and hateful rhetoric,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said in a statement. “Their politicized opinions are not supported by medical analysis.”
The union also pointed to specific expressions of hateful vitriol directed at Kirbiyik, and carriage workers in general, after Deniz’s unfortunate death. One X.com user wrote “KILL THAT F**KING IMMIGRANT,” while another post shared by TWU derisively described horse carriages as owned by “gypsies and foreigners.”
In a statement provided to Straus News, Marte said that the toxicology report wouldn’t change his mission to pass Ryder’s Law: “Horses should not be put in a position where one bite of park vegetation, one loud noise, one collision, or one medical emergency can become fatal in the middle of a crowded public park.”
After news of Deniz’s death first broke, Marte listed unspecified “union partners” as stakeholders that he looked forward to working with on the legislation. As of yet, it is unclear if the new toxicology report will stymie any such future collaboration between Marte and the TWU.