The New York City Council is set to approve a ban on Central Park carriage horses next week.
Council Speaker Julie Menin on Tuesday announced the chamber would hold a vote on legislation to ban the industry on Oct. 22. For years, animal rights advocates have called for the end to the park’s once iconic carriage horses. Their push gained momentum in June after a carriage horse collapsed and died. Weeks later, teen tourist Romanch Mahajan died after he fell from a runaway carriage horse in the park.
After Mahajan’s death, councilmembers renamed a bill to ban the carriage horses after him, and held a daylong hearing on the legislation.
“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Menin wrote in a statement.
The industry has been fiercely defended by the powerful Transport Workers Union, which represents the carriage horse drivers.
The legislation already has the support of more than half the Council’s 51 members, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said that he supports banning the industry.
Menin said the legislation also aims to help carriage drivers who would be put out of work by the ban.
“The legislation will require the administration to develop a plan to connect hardworking New Yorkers employed in this industry with new economic opportunities,” Menin said in her statement. “We can honor our city’s traditions while recognizing when it’s time to move forward in the interest of public safety, protecting workers, and strengthening our city’s economic vitality.”