In one breath, Zohran Mamdani says he plans to ban carriage horses from Central Park. In another, he says he’ll form a panel to study the industry before coming to a decision.

It’s the type of fence-straddling that’s become a feature of the mayoral front-runner’s campaign as he works to avoid conflict and controversy ahead of November’s election. But despite his lack of firm commitment on the issue, the two opposing sides of the long-standing fight each claim he’s in their corner.

“We have his commitment,” said Edita Birnkrant, the head of NYCLASS, a politically connected animal welfare group that has for decades protested the city’s carriage horse drivers. The group’s members are known to heckle and harass tourists taking carriage rides in the park.

“It was communicated in writing and in follow-up conversations,” Birnkrant said.

John Samuelsen, the head of the powerful Transport Workers Union that includes the city’s roughly 200 carriage horse drivers, said Mamdani has also made commitments to him that the union would be a stakeholder in the discussions about the industry.

“He has made commitments that he will not go into his four years as mayor predisposed to believing that the horses are treated inhumanely,” Samuelsen said.

For years, the union — which primarily represents MTA employees — has leveraged its political weight to fight back against a carriage horse ban. The labor group lambasted Mayor Eric Adams last month after he called on the City Council to pass legislation outlawing the industry. The union this week indicated it would sue Adams and NYCLASS over the plan.

The two sides’ conversations with Mamdani show how he’s navigating an issue that’s long been an albatross for New York City mayors. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed to outlaw the horse carriages “on day one” during his winning 2013 campaign. He never made good on the promise during his eight years in office.

For now, Mamdani appears to be placating both sides.

“I echo the concerns of many New Yorkers for whom this is a significant issue,” Mamdani said during a campaign event on Wednesday. “I believe one of the first orders of business would be for me to visit the stables myself, convene an independent panel of medical experts to assess the health of these horses.”

Mamdani added that he planned to work with labor and community leaders to deliver a “just resolution,” but also definitively said he opposes the carriage horse industry.

The Transport Workers Union wants the city to conduct a health assessment of the carriage horses. Mamdani’s support for that idea suggests he wouldn’t execute a ban on the industry during his first days in office. If a panel formed by Mamdani — which he said would include union leaders — would call for the carriages to be banned, it’s unclear whether he would follow through on the suggestion. HIs campaign didn’t respond to an inquiry about the scenario.

“This is one of those uniquely New York issues where there’s no winning,” said Matt Wing, a Democratic consultant who worked for de Blasio. He said Mamdani would be smart to avoid talking about it because while NYCLASS and the union are deeply dug in, “the majority of New Yorkers do not care about it.”

Mamdani waded into the carriage issue back in June ahead of the Democratic primary as part of a NYCLASS questionnaire sent to the candidates. In the questionnaire, Mamdani said he would support a ban of the industry in Manhattan, calling the carriages “inhumane and unnecessary.”

Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, have also said they would back a full ban of the industry.

Samuelsen, who joined Mamdani at Wednesday’s event, said he’s spoken regularly with the Democratic nominee about the carriage horses in recent weeks. Although he said Mamdani gave him no promises, he downplayed Mamdani’s opposition as a stance he took on a questionnaire before the primary.

“They’re a politicized pain in the a– that every candidate wants to get off their back,” Samuelsen said of NYCLASS.

Birnkant dismissed the remark.

”It’s just more sneering from John Samuelsen and desperation because he knows that we have support on our side from the general public. This is what the public wants. This is what the Central Park Conservancy wants. Cities around the world have already banned horse carriages,” she said.

Birnkant and NYCLASS members were at City Hall on Thursday to meet with members of the City Council about the proposed carriage horse ban. While they were inside, they parked a truck on Broadway with a screen that displayed videos of horses collapsing on city streets.