New York Moves to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages in Central Park: Animal Lovers Cheer, Drivers Fear for Their Livelihoods

New York City is moving towards ending the era of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. A proposal to outlaw the carriages is expected to pass in the City Council, a step welcomed by animal-rights campaigners and many New Yorkers, while roughly two hundred drivers face the prospect of losing their livelihoods.

For more than 160 years, horse-drawn carriages have been a popular tradition with tourists in Central Park. Yet concerns over animal welfare and public safety have kept the tradition surrounded by controversy.

The City Council is expected to vote on Thursday to pass a ban on the carriages, with the prohibition due to take effect in June 2028. Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs the proposal and has said he will help develop a transition plan for workers in the industry.

Alexus Lawson became attached to the trade after petting a carriage horse in Central Park at the age of five. The 28-year-old has driven a carriage pulled by her own horse for six years. Hearing of the ban, she asked what she is supposed to do with her horse, and how she can ensure its health if she is told she can no longer work with it.

The push for a ban gained new momentum this summer after the death of a teenager. In June, 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, visiting New York with his family from India, was riding in a carriage when the horse bolted; he fell out and died. The proposed legislation, known as Romanch's Law, is named after him. This year a carriage horse named Deniz also died after eating a toxic plant in Central Park.

According to the Manhattan Borough President's office, 40 horses working in Central Park have died since 1982, with causes including overheating and collisions blamed. The Central Park Conservancy, the non-profit that manages the park and supports the ban, said there had been seven horse-related incidents in the past 13 months alone.

Among those incidents, a spooked horse hit another carriage in May, tipping it over and sending a driver to hospital. In January another horse, named Destiny, ran into traffic near the park and caused a multi-car collision.

Drivers, however, reject allegations of mistreatment. Medet Fidan, a driver for 12 years, said he spends more time with his horses than with his wife and children, and called claims of abuse a joke. He also voiced anger that a ban was being passed without officials talking in person to drivers and others in the industry.

Lawson owns six horses. She pointed out that New York City carriages are the most regulated in the country, and said horses enjoy the stimulation of the work; in her view, critics see a trap where there is simply a working animal. She called Mahajan's death extremely tragic, but questioned why, if safety were truly the concern, the carriages would not be outlawed immediately rather than in two years' time.

The legislation proposes an industry transition framework, including potential job placement, training, career counselling and financial compensation for those in the business. The council held a hearing in July at which drivers and community members commented; drivers who spoke there put their earnings at around $60,000 to $70,000 a year.

The Transport Workers Union, which represents the drivers, said the plan includes no guarantees, including on compensation, and that workers would be economically wiped out. It also raised concerns about a lack of funding for those who eventually take in the horses. The bill forbids selling horses for slaughter or for similar work.

Tourists in the park are divided too. Vanessa Stolle, a German visitor whose family keeps horses at home, said horses do not belong in a noisy park pulling passengers. Christian Bauers, another German tourist who remembered the horses from a visit 20 years ago, called them part of New York's culture and said they should stay. Horses can currently work up to nine hours a day; a 20-minute ride costs $72.22, plus $28.89 for every extra ten minutes.

The roots of this debate run deep: in 1866, after witnessing the brutal beating of a carriage horse, Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Now all eyes are on the council vote — if it passes, the century-old carriages will disappear from Central Park's paths from June 2028.