Officers from the Central Park Precinct<\/a> responded to a 911 call of a person in need of help. When they arrived, officers were informed that a carriage horse became startled due to an \u201cabrupt movement,\u201d authorities said, causing the carriage to overturn.<\/p>\n The 44-year-old coachman fell to the ground as a result of the topple; EMS brought him to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n The horse sustained no injuries; there were no passengers in the carriage at the time of the incident. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n Following the jaw-dropping incident, the Central Park Conservancy immediately called for a ban on horse-drawn carriages in the iconic park and around the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis incident is a stark reminder of the dangers that horse-drawn carriages pose in an increasingly crowded Central Park, not only to the park\u2019s millions of visitors, but very often to the drivers themselves,\u201d a spokesperson for the organization said.<\/p>\n In a historic move last year<\/a>, the conservancy called for the city to end the horse-drawn carriage industry in the park, marking the first time it took a side in the ongoing controversy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Central Park Conservancy renews its call to ban carriages in Central Park as a matter of public safety and public health,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cNew York should join the growing number of major cities around the world that have already banned horse-drawn carriages\u00a0before\u00a0yet another accident is allowed to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Horse-drawn rides are \u2018part of what makes Central Park special\u2019<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a spokesperson for TWU Local 100<\/a>, the union that represents the city\u2019s carriage drivers, refuted accounts that say yesterday\u2019s incident started from a startled horse. Rather, the animal reacted after two carriages crossed wheels, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cCarriage-horse rides and the horses are a popular attraction, part of what makes Central Park so special, and are an important source of jobs for an overwhelmingly immigrant group of New Yorkers,\u201d the union spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The union has also maintained that the horse-drawn carriage fight is less about animal welfare than it is about vying for coveted real estate where the stable is located on Manhattan\u2019s far West Side in Hell\u2019s Kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe stables are on valuable property that real estate interests would love to see vacant so they can be snatched up to build expensive high-rises,\u201d the union spokesperson said. \u201cThis so-called debate has always at\u00a0 its core been about real estate, not animal welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n Legislation to ban the industry<\/p>\n Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean Livable and Safe Streets), who is often at odds with TWU reps, told amNewYork that the NYC Council should reintroduce Ryder\u2019s Law<\/a>, legislation that would phase out horse-drawn carriages\u00a0and replace them with electric alternatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNYCLASS urgently calls on Speaker Menin and the City Council to quickly reintroduce and fast-track Ryder\u2019s Law before more drivers, members of the public, or horses are seriously injured or killed,\u201d Birnkrant said. \u201cYesterday, another violent and entirely foreseeable carriage horse crash unfolded in Midtown, underscoring that the continued operation of horse carriages amounts to reckless endangerment of horses, drivers, and the public.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she and others who witnessed the incident were concerned about the driver, as well as the horse working in the sun during a heat advisory.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThese incidents keep happening because horses are skittish prey animals who do not belong in chaotic Midtown traffic,\u201d Birnkrnat said. \u201c78% of polled New York voters support passing Ryder\u2019s Law, along with the Mayor, the Central Park Conservancy, and countless horse experts. The City Council must act now before the next tragedy occurs.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/amNY_HorseCarriagesIndustry_TWU-1-scaled.jpg\" "\\"Central")
Horse carriage driver Jill and her horse Scout, a new arrrival, wait for an exam. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n