It came straight from the horse’s mouth.
Actor Liam Neeson who hosted a dozen City Council members Sunday at the stables that house Central Park carriage horses showed some unbridled anger at Mayor de Blasio’s absence.
“He should have manned up and come," Neeson said about Hizzoner. "I'm disappointed he's not here."
MISHA ERWITT Liam Nesson with Arnie the horse and stable manager Conor McHugh on Sunday at the Clinton Park Stables on W. 52nd St., where the actor showed his support for the horse carriage industry. The “Non-Stop” actor invited all 51 council members to the stables to show the horses are treated humanely in a bid to derail the mayor's planned ban on the industry.
"These horses are well cared for," said Neeson, who has become the carriage drivers' highest-profile ally, at the Clinton Park Stables on W. 52nd St., where 78 carriage horses bed down.
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Liam Neeson (center) paid a visit Sunday to the Clinton Park Stables on W. 52nd St. to advocate for keeping horse carriages in New York City. "It's a connection with our past, it's a connection with our history," he said. "And it has to be said — the great white elephant in the room, four prime locations on the West Side of New York that realtors must be salivating to get their hands on."
De Blasio said Sunday he does plan to visit the stables.
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Mayor de Blasio and all 51 City Council members were invited by Liam Neeson to the Clinton Park Stables. About a dozen councilmembers showed up. "I'm firm about the fact that we have to make this move," said de Blasio, who skipped the tour with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan).
"The reason I want to visit the stables and will do it when the schedule allows is because we want to work with the folks who operate those horse carriages and get them new opportunities in other types of related work," he said, citing a proposal to replace the carriages with antique electric cars. "We want to make sure we're listening to their concerns as we do it, but I'm clear about where we need to go."
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Jesus Ramos (left) leads a horse out of its stable. Advocacy group NYCLASS says it is pushing the ban because of dangerous working conditions, not the stables. During the tour, the Irish actor made hay with de Blasio’s electric car idea.
"The mayor wants to replace them with electric cars. That's exactly what New York needs, more cars. This experiment has been tried with electric cars in San Francisco — failed abysmally," he said.
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Liam Neeson visted the stables Sunday to show the horses are treated humanely in a bid to derail the mayor's planned ban on the industry. Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Queens), said he backs the drivers.
"I'm a progressive, so I'm not looking to put 350 families out on the street," he said.
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Mayor de Blasio and all 51 City Council members were invited by Liam Neeson (center) to the Clinton Park Stables. About a dozen councilmembers showed up. Republican Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio of Staten Island said he remains torn on the issue.
"The horses clearly seem calm and like it's their home," he said. "If there are legitimate concerns regarding the safety of the animals, then let's bring them out and have a conversation about a compromise plan."
Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News Mayor de Blasio says he wants to visit the stables — but is still moving forward with his horse carriage ban. Advocacy group NYCLASS, which has been the force behind the ban, said the stables’ conditions aren’t the primary reason to ban the carriages.
"It’s inhumanity of horses working in dangerous midtown traffic. Horses are easily spooked, and forcing them to work in loud, congested Lincoln Tunnel traffic is cruel and unsafe," the group said in a statement.
Julia Xanthos/New York Daily News Children pet a horse named Rudy outside of Clinton Stables on W. 52nd St. 
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