Central Park’s long-debated horse-drawn carriages may finally be on their way out. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have reached a deal on a bill that would end the industry by June 2028, with a Council vote expected on Oct. 22. Menin says she’s confident it will clear the 51-member body with enough support to override any veto. The push gained urgency after 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan died in a July fall from a carriage; the measure has been dubbed “Romanch’s Law.”
John Samuelsen, the head of the Transport Workers Union, says the proposal leaves drivers exposed; he criticized the bill’s “weak” job transition commitments and language that only requires the city to “consider” offering compensation. The bill “is full of ‘supposals,’ without any guarantees,” said Samuelsen, per Gothamist. The New York Times reports there are currently 68 medallions for horse-drawn carriages, roughly 150 active licensed drivers, and about 160 horses. Samuelson notes carriage owners “spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy city-issued medallions and build up their businesses.” The bill would require that horses be retired humanely, meaning they could not be sold for slaughter or sold to a horse-drawn carriage business, reports Politico.