Mayor Bill de Blasio's bid to relegate horse-drawn carriages to Central Park is facing significant resistance in the City Council, even among the mayor's usual allies. NY1's Josh Robin filed the following report.

To put it charitably, Council members are greeting the administration's horse plans skeptically.

"You will excuse my cynicism. I'm a lifelong New Yorker. And I think what you're asking us to buy here is an empty bag with a hole in it," said City Councilman Barry Grodenchik of Queens.

"I have no more questions because the answers are just not there. I just want to step back and let you know that the performance here today wasn't one that justifies us making decisions," said City Councilman Antonio Reynoso, whose district covers parts of Queens and Brooklyn.

De Blasio officials say the Council should decide that the bill is fine.

"I think this is something that we've come together and hope that folks will support," said Mindy Tarlow, director of the Mayor's Office of Operations.

That's not what these Council members say. Not after City Hall couldn't answer basic questions like where a stable housing the horses will definitely be. It's eyeing renovating a landmarked Central Park space. But officials can't say how much rebuilding will cost, nor why rebuilding will only take a fraction of the time to build far less complicated projects, where lawsuits aren't an issue. Nor could they say how many carriage jobs would be lost.

Although, officials did report no horses have died in traffic, while four were injured over the past decade.

"I think what we've presented is what we support and expect to go forward with, but as you know, we are about to have many people weighing in on that legislation as part of this deliberative process," Tarlow said.

Then, there are the pedicabs. The deal unexpectedly restricts them to Central Park north of 85th Street. Drivers can still pick up tourists outside of the park, but they say business will be lost, and Council members seemed to sympathize. Even the bill's sponsor, Ydanis Rodriguez.

"It's a great compromise. However, there's questions that both sectors have, and we need to take all those questions and give them answers," Rodriguez said.

Pulling one string may unravel the whole thing.

After two years waiting, City Hall is said to be pushing for a vote in less than two weeks. Friday's hearing gives the impression it may be too ambitious a schedule for too contentious an issue.