{"id":379548,"date":"2026-10-22T10:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379548\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T10:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:34:10","slug":"drivers-feel-angry-betrayed-as-nyc-council-poised-to-pass-central-park-horse-carriage-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379548\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers feel angry, betrayed as NYC council poised to pass Central Park horse carriage ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Medet Fidian spent $310,000 on one of New York City\u2019s 68 horse carriage medallions<\/a> in 2022, it was his second shot at the American dream. His first was driving a yellow cab after arriving here from Turkey in 1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you say \u2018New York,\u2019 the first thing that comes to your mind is Lady Liberty \u2014 and then a yellow taxi<\/a>,\u201d the 56-year-old told the Daily News this week. \u201cI did not think there was a chance they were going to kill [that] business.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Fidian was pushed to the edge of bankruptcy when his investment in two taxi medallions plummeted from $1 million per medallion to less than $200,000 when app-based rideshare services arrived in the city.<\/a> Seeking a way forward, he turned to another quintessentially New York medallion-based business\u00a0\u2014 driving horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be in Central Park all day is priceless \u2014 you have an office in the middle of the best design masterpiece of [Frederick Law] Olmstead,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 Fidian said.<\/p>\n

But Fidian\u2019s job \u2014 and that of hundreds of other drivers, medallion owners and stable hands \u2014 is expected to be wiped out Thursday as the City Council is expected to outlaw the industry amid growing concerns over safety.<\/a><\/p>\n

The council bill, Romanch\u2019s Law, is named for the 18-year-old boy who was killed jumping from a runaway horse-drawn carriage<\/a> in June. It would cease the issuance of new carriage-horse licenses and outlaw the industry entirely by the summer of 2028. The expected passage of the bill into law this week has been heralded by animal rights activists \u2014 some of whom argue that making a horse pull a carriage in inherently abusive to the creature \u2014 as a long-overdue victory.<\/p>\n

But a massive hole in the bill, many of those who work in the industry argue, is the lack of any clear compensation for those who have invested millions in medallions,<\/a> horses and carriages to support an industry the city authorized and long regulated. The bill nods at the issue, but there are no dollars on the table for those whose investments are about to become worthless.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second time I\u2019ve been victimized by City Hall,\u201d said Fidian, who also owns two horses, Hamilton and Maradona.<\/p>\n

Vague assurances<\/p>\n

In announcing the ban, Mayor Mamdani said any effort to wind down the industry should include steps to find jobs and economic security<\/a> for those who the ban would put out of work.<\/p>\n

As previously reported by the Daily News, the most recent revision to Romanch\u2019s Law \u2014 the result of talks between the council and the mayor\u2019s office \u2014 would require the city to establish an \u201cindustry transition plan\u201d by April 2027<\/a>. That plan would be expected outline steps to help carriage horse workers secure new jobs, including at regional transit agencies or in tourism roles.<\/p>\n

The law would also require \u201cconsideration of whether to establish a program to compensate horse drawn cab owners for the value of their horse drawn cab businesses, horse drawn cab licenses, and equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s language carriage horse owners and drivers find uncomfortably imprecise. The union representing the drivers, TWU Local 100, has blasted that aspect of the bill, among others and is threatening to sue should the measure pass.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FrankFrank Riccobono (right) stands with his father, Giuseppe Riccobono, in front of one of their three carriages in an undated photo. Frank entered the family business at the age of 18. (Courtesy of Frank Riccobono)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is how we feed our families,\u201d said Frank Riccobono, an owner and driver with 20 years in the business. \u201cAnd now we\u2019re going to be in a big financial crisis and there\u2019s no language promising any figure like a buy-back program or an alternative business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re Central Park tour guides<\/a>. That\u2019s my profession, whether it\u2019s on a horse or on foot,\u201d Riccobono said about the bill\u2019s promised transition plan \u201cHow do you go from that to driving a school bus or whatever?\u201d<\/p>\n

Riccobono, 39, said he started driving at the age of 18, working for his father in the family business. He owns 11 horses and three medallions \u2014 the most recent of which cost him just shy of $400,000, he told The News.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like my American dream was happening, and now the Americans are shattering my American dream,<\/a>\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re very scared. I haven\u2019t slept. I don\u2019t want to wake up in the morning. I\u2019m depressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calculating the loss<\/p>\n

Compensation, should the city decide to pursue it, is a complicated endeavor. The value of the city\u2019s 68 horse-carriage medallions fluctuates. Similarly, the value of the horses, which the law would require them to sell. Owners told the News they\u2019ve purchased their horses for prices between $4,000 and $15,000 depending on their age, breed and training.<\/p>\n

And compensation of the business owners for their medallions, carriages and horses will do little to help the drivers they employ or the hands employed by the city\u2019s three carriage horse stables.<\/p>\n

\"Second-generationSecond-generation horse carriage driver Frank Riccobono speaks during a press conference outside New York City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Riccobono, a father of two, said he drives 6 days a week, and he employs seven other drivers as part of his business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seven employees, and they have families and children as well,\u201d he said. At least three of his employees have been driving horses for roughly 40 years, Riccobono said. \u201cThis is all they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey zero equity,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat are they going to move to another state to go drive a horse? Their whole families are based in the five boroughs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fidian, who emigrated from the Kurdish region of Turkey, said he worries about the dozen or so stable hands he pays to care for his two horses. \u201cForget about the money, the human side of the story is really tragic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Riccobono, the answer would be to allow the industry to continue \u2014 simply without horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I show up to the park with my carriage, without the horse, why would it be illegal?\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way I\u2019m looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York City Council member Vickie Paladino speaks during a press conference outside New York City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Riccobono said he\u2019s hoping to get the chance to us his medallion to give tours with slow-moving electric vehicles \u2014 an option that\u2019s been floated by Gotham\u2019s carriage-horse opponents<\/a> in the past, and was used in Turkey<\/a> to replace carriage horses in Istanbul.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I show up in the park and [my carriage] is electrified, what\u2019s the problem then, right?\u201d Riccobono said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe value of us being able to provide tours in Central Park is what I bought,\u201d he said of his medallions. \u201cI bought a business in Central Park \u2014 they cannot strip the business from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m losing faith in the whole democracy and the whole way the government works,\u201d Riccobono said. \u201cI pay taxes all these years, and its embarrassing \u2014 it\u2019s embarrassing to call myself a New Yorker.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Medet Fidian spent $310,000 on one of New York City\u2019s 68 horse carriage medallions in 2022, it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2659,85,9,692,12,56,63,65,64,87],"class_list":["post-379548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-election","tag-latest-headlines","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-politics","tag-news","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}