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New NYPD Stable in Hell's Kitchen May Be Tabled

By DNAinfo Staff on April 13, 2011 9:39am

A horse inside the NYPD's stable.
A horse inside the NYPD's stable.
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Flickr/flickr4jazz

By Tara Kyle

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HELL'S KITCHEN — A plan to move the NYPD’s legion of horses into swanky new West Side digs could be in jeopardy.

The city planned to house more than two dozen horses belonging to the NYPD Mounted Unit in new stables being built at 770 11th Ave., near West 54th Street. The new 32-story building, which will begin moving in residents this summer, already features 1,000 apartments, futuristic architecture, park views and a Mercedez-Benz dealership.

The NYPD horses currently reside in a temporary home along the waterfront at Pier 76 on West 36th Street, which is slated to be converted into commercial space and become part of Hudson River Park.

But the Bloomberg administration is now considering abandoning the Eleventh Avenue plan, according to members of Community Board 4. The community board is urging the city to reaffirm its agreement with the neighborhood and the project’s developer, David Walentis of Two Trees Management Co.

It may not look like a stable, but the city planned to move the NYPD's Mounted Unit into an 11th Avenue development shared with Mercedes-Benz.
It may not look like a stable, but the city planned to move the NYPD's Mounted Unit into an 11th Avenue development shared with Mercedes-Benz.
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DNAinfo/Tara Kyle

The mayor's office referred a request for information to the NYPD. The NYPD did not return requests for comment.

Historically, the NYPD houses its horses in a corral and stable along West 42nd Street, but since the late 1990s those facilities have been repeatedly displaced by luxury housing and parks.

"Not a lot of developers want that kind of use in their building," CB4 land use committee chair Joe Restuccia said.

After years of searching for a permanent home, CB4 thought they'd found a solution in 2008 through Two Trees and Walentis, whose family keeps horses upstate.

CB4 members now fear the horses will stay stuck indefinitely at Pier 76.

The Two Trees development at 770 Eleventh Avenue was slated to house NYPD horses.
The Two Trees development at 770 Eleventh Avenue was slated to house NYPD horses.
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DNAinfo/Tara Kyle