Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have come together to strike a deal to end horse-drawn carriages in New York City. The move will put an end to a centuries-old practice and Central Park tradition that came under renewed scrutiny after a horse threw a teenage tourist to his death.
“The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,” Mamdani posted on X. “Our administration will make sure workers and owners are protected and the horses are safe.”
Menin said that the council will float a bill next week to make horse-drawn carriages illegal to operate in the five boroughs beginning June 2028, per Politico. According to a spokesperson for the City Council, the Mamdani administration reviewed and approved the bill’s language ahead of its planned council-wide vote on October 22.
“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Menin said in a statement to the New York Post. “Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City’s history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability.”
Menin added that the legislation would need the Mamdani administration to develop a plan to connect the city’s roughly 200 laid-off carriage drivers with “new economic opportunities.”
“We have been working closely with the City Council, union partners, carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates, and community leaders to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all,” Mamdani spokesperson Sneha Choudhary said in a statement.
Why New Yorkers want horse carriages to be banned
Several New Yorkers and animal lovers have long been fighting to put a ban on hiring horse carriages for Central Park tours as the animals often have to work long hours in extreme heat and cold. Several horses have fainted or dropped dead while on the job over the past year. Many horses have even tried to run loose with the cart still attached to their backs.
Multiple bills banning the practice have been introduced in the past, but eventually died.
Concerns grew this summer when an 18-year-old tourist, Romanch Mahajan, died after being thrown when a horse got spooked on his ride during a freak accident. The teen’s family later said “the industry is responsible” for his death.
“If [the prior legislation] had passed, the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026 — Romanch died on June 17,” the boy’s father, Deepak Mahajan, pleaded before the City Council at a July hearing. “This was not an unpredictable accident. Let his death not be in vain.”
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To honor the teen, the bill was renamed Romanch’s Law. Previous iterations were named after Ryder, a horse that tragically collapsed and died after spending a day pulling a carriage in the hot August 22 sun.
Council Member Christopher Marte, the bill’s prime sponsor, hailed Menin’s announcement to “secure human futures for the horses.”
“We are ready to get Romanch’s Law across the finish line on October 22 and finally bring this unsafe and outdated industry to an end,” Marte said in a statement. “With a majority of the Council behind us, we have a historic opportunity to protect New Yorkers, visitors, workers, and animals, and we intend to finish the job.”
The announcement was also celebrated by New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), an organization that has been championing a ban.
“With the support of the council, and the mayor, this long-overdue ban on cruel and dangerous horse-drawn carriages will pass. We are deeply grateful to Speaker Julie Menin for her extraordinary leadership and determination to bring this legislation across the finish line,” it said.