The battle over whether to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City makes its return to City Hall Wednesday, where legislators will consider whether to advance the latest proposal — renamed in the wake of a tourist’s freak Central Park death last month — to the full City Council.
Council Member Christopher Marte, who represents Lower Manhattan’s District 1, will introduce the bill as its lead sponsor. According to records, the bill would phase out the horse-drawn carriage industry by no longer renewing or giving new licenses to operators. The proposal calls for a total ban effective as of June 1, 2028.
The bill, which delineates safe and humane handling steps for the horses as they are phased out, also requires the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to administer a workforce development program for drivers to facilitate their transition to other employment fields.
NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin has thrown her support behind it. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he supports the bill’s spirit, but wants to see stronger worker protections.
Wednesday’s hearing before the NYC Council’s Health Committee is an opening step in this bill’s legislative process. That panel will decide, on a future date, whether to send the bill to the floor for a full vote, according to The New York Times.
But in a city where this impassioned debate has raged for decades, people are already paying attention.
Last month’s death of an 18-year-old tourist, Romanch Mahajan, is believed to have been the first stemming from a horse carriage accident since the rides were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago, according to the labor union that represents the industry and the Central Park Conservancy.
Majahan and his family were visiting from India – it was their first trip to New York City — when it happened.
During the family’s carriage ride, the driver stepped out of the seat to take a photo of them, and the horse suddenly started running. Mahajan was thrown off and hit his head on the pavement. It killed him.
The union says the driver didn’t act in accordance with protocol.
Animal rights activists have long said that carriage horses are overworked, can get easily spooked on city streets and live in inadequate stables while their drivers regularly flout city rules. All of those allegations have been denied by the horse and carriage owners, who say the animals are well cared for, and the stables are fine.
The Central Park Conservancy has argued that horses can no longer safely share park roads teeming with joggers, cyclists, pedestrians and motorized scooters, noting that other U.S. cities, including Chicago and San Antonio, have also recently done away with the nostalgic rides.
But carriage industry leaders said the fatal crash underscores the need for better protections, not outright elimination of the quaint attraction that harkens back to a romanticized, bygone New York. The union also called for hitching posts to be installed throughout the park, something the animal rights groups say won’t help.