De Blasio Sought Donations From Group Lobbying For Carriage Ban

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio directly solicited campaign donations from the founders of an animal rights group lobbying the city to ban horse carriages from city streets, according to a state agency that investigates ethics and lobbying.

In de Blasio's first year as mayor he directly asked the founder of animal rights group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS) to donate to a non-profit set up by former campaign officials called Campaign for One New York, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) announced. The nonprofit was created to support the mayor's legislative agenda, the agency said.

The founder of NYCLASS, Steven Nislick, and a board member of the organization, Wendy Neu, both agreed to donate to Campaign for One New York, according to the state oversight agency. Neu ended up contributing $25,000, but Nislick was told not to donate by de Blasio campaign official Ross Offinger because the mayor had solicited the donation directly, according to a JCOPE press release.

In 2015 both Neu and Nislick donated $50,000 each to Campaign for One New York while their group lobbied the mayor to ban horse carriages and replace them with electric-powered vehicles, according to the state agency. Nislick and Neu met with de Blasio at City Hall four times between February 2015 and February 2016, according to a JCOPE settlement with NYCLASS.

On Monday, NYCLASS admitted to failing to register with the state commission as a lobbyist and agreed to pay a settlement of $10,000.

During his 2013 campaign de Blasio had promised to ban horse carriages from city streets on his first day in office. The mayor was unable to convince the City Council to support a ban on horse carriages, which still operate in Central Park.

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