LUIZ PINTO (with his horse Cookie)
Carriage driver, Manhattan

Q. Has “The Gates” been good for business?

A. It’s been great. I can’t complain at all. I have had customers from Germany and France, as well as upstate and New Jersey. It is winter break for a lot of schoolchildren, so their parents bring them in for the day. And surprisingly, I have had a lot of New Yorkers.

How is business now compared to a typical February day?

Usually, I make about two or three rides a day on a weekday. Now I am making seven to eight a day.

And on the weekends, at this time in the year I make seven or eight. Now I making 14 to 15 rides a day.

What do you think about “The Gates”?

I think “The Gates” are more of a social work than an artwork, because it brings people together. It is interactive. They talk to each other, ask questions, ask to take pictures of each other, and that is when they strike up a conversation.

What do you plan to do after they take them down?

I will still be here. This is a tourist attraction. I work all year round, and the carriages, they are always here.