Carriage Horse Owners to Sue NYC Over Alleged Yew Poisoning Death
The owners of a horse that died in Central Park have filed a notice of claim, alleging the animal ingested toxic Japanese yew.
The owners of Deniz, a 16-year-old carriage horse that died suddenly in Central Park on June 9, have filed a notice of claim against the City of New York and several related agencies, a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit. The claim alleges that Deniz died from ingesting Japanese yew, a poisonous plant found in the park.
The notice, filed on September 8 by brothers Nurettin and Ummet Kirbiyik, who operate Arsian Horse Carriage, names the City of New York, NYC Parks, the Health Department, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the Department of Transportation, and the Central Park Conservancy as defendants. The owners are seeking at least $50,000 to cover the horse's value, veterinary and diagnostic costs, transportation expenses, and business losses.
According to the claim, Deniz consumed the yew berries near the East Drive, north of East 90th Street, and collapsed approximately 45 minutes later near the West Drive. A necropsy conducted by Cornell University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center reportedly found evidence of Japanese yew and diagnosed the cause of death as yew toxicosis.
The claim asserts that the poisonous shrubs were planted within reach of carriage horses and that no warnings, barriers, or signs were in place to alert drivers. It further alleges that the city and the Central Park Conservancy knew or should have known about the toxicity of the yew plant.
In response to the horse's death in June, a spokesperson for the Central Park Conservancy stated that NYC Parks rules prohibit horses from eating vegetation and require carriage drivers to supervise their animals. The Conservancy also expressed support for a ban on carriage horses in the park. The owners' lawyer, Robert Hantman, called the idea of banning carriage horses, a long-standing tradition, “ridiculous” and suggested the Conservancy was seeking a scapegoat.
The notice of claim also demands that the city and the Conservancy survey and address toxic vegetation along carriage routes.