NYC mayor and council speaker agree to end Central Park horse carriages by 2028

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have agreed on legislation that would end horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park by 2028. Daily Sabah attributes the agreement to Mamdani's office. The Hindu attributes it to The New York Times.

The City Council is expected to vote on the bill next week. The bill includes provisions to protect carriage workers.

Mamdani posted on X: "The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City. Our administration will make sure workers and owners are protected, and the horses are safe."

In June, Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India, died after a carriage accident in Central Park. The horse bolted, and his mother was thrown or fell from the carriage. He jumped from the carriage to try to help her. His death renewed the push for a ban.

According to The Hindu, the deadline is June 2028. The bill has been renamed "Romanch's Law" in Mahajan's honour. It was previously called Ryder's Law, after a carriage horse that collapsed in August 2022 and died in October 2022.

According to Daily Sabah, the bill would:

• require the mayor's office to develop a workforce transition plan for drivers;
• allow the city to consider some form of compensation for workers;
• bar owners from selling horses for slaughter;
• require that horses be disposed of in a "humane manner".

Daily Sabah also reports that Mahajan's death appeared to be the first fatality in a carriage accident in the park. It notes that Mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams both called for ending the rides, but neither effort advanced.

What remains unclear

Apart from Speaker Menin, who backs the bill, the reports do not name council members who support or oppose it, and they do not include a vote count. Expectations that it will pass rest on statements from Menin and her spokesperson. The reports do not say how many workers or horses would be affected, or how large any compensation would be.

What each side says

Menin said in a statement quoted by Daily Sabah: "The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable." She called the carriages "a growing public safety liability".

According to Daily Sabah, Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen said in a statement that the bill offers "no meaningful economic relief for workers". He said Menin "used the tragic death of a tourist to contrive a public safety crisis."

Daily Sabah quoted longtime driver Conor McHugh as telling the City Council earlier this year that a carriage ride is "one of the most iconic things to do in New York City".

The Central Park Conservancy, which manages day-to-day care of the park, renewed its call for a ban, according to The Hindu.

Mahajan's father, Deepak Mahajan, told council members by video call during a hearing on the bill: "We are shattered, our whole family shattered. The pain does not go away," Daily Sabah reported.

Analysis

The agreement between the mayor and the council speaker gives the bill stronger backing than earlier efforts under previous mayors, which did not advance, according to Daily Sabah. Whether it passes, and by what margin, will be clearer after next week's expected vote. The main open questions concern the workers. The reports do not specify the size or form of compensation, and the union argues the relief is inadequate. How the transition plan is designed, and what happens to the horses, may shape how the policy is received by both supporters and opponents of the industry.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.