New York City lawmakers are set to vote on a bill that would effectively ban all horse-drawn carriages from Central Park â a move that means the tradition dating back to the late 1800s would be taken out to pasture.
The City Council is anticipated to approve a bill next week that would abolish the rides â which have been a staple in the Big Apple for more than 150 years â by June 1, 2028.
The bill follows an agreement between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin and could mark the first successful effort to ban the rides after previous mayors unsuccessfully pushed to end the industry.
“We have been working closely with the City Council, union partners, carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates, and community leaders to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all,” a spokesperson for Mamdanis office said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
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Menin, who was the first sitting City Council speaker to support the legislation, also celebrated the decision.
“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,” Menin said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Menin for comment but did not immediately receive a response.Â
“Our Administration has been working on a detailed plan for the transition of the workforce and industry, and we have begun discussion of compensation for medallion owners,” a City Hall spokesperson said.
For years, animal rights advocates have called for an end to Central Parks horse-drawn carriages, pointing to high-profile incidents involving allegations of animal abuse and the deaths of carriage horses.
“New Yorkers are sick and tired of seeing exhausted, sick, lame, elderly horses struggling to pull carriages through Midtown Manhattan, collapsing in the streets,” PETA Director of Outreach Communications Ashley Byrne told Fox News Digital. “They’ve wanted this gone for a long time.”
Activists have largely denounced the industry as cruel and inhumane, pointing to incidents in which horses have been startled by Manhattan traffic and bolted into oncoming vehicles or onto crowded sidewalks.
However, the push to ban the tourist attraction intensified in June.
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On June 17, 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who was traveling from India with his family to celebrate his recent graduation, died after being thrown from a runaway horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.
His death prompted renewed calls for legislation banning horse-drawn carriages. Lawmakers renamed the proposed “Ryder’s Law” â named after an elderly horse who collapsed on a Manhattan street in 2022 and later died â “Romanch’s Law.”
“It is tragic and absolutely unforgivable that this industry insisted on dragging this out until countless horses and a teenage human being with his whole life
