New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry will be eliminated by June 2028 after the City Council voted overwhelmingly Thursday to outlaw the longtime Central Park attraction, bringing an end to a tradition dating back more than 150 years and setting the stage for a major legal confrontation with carriage drivers who say the city is destroying their livelihoods without providing adequate compensation.

The legislation passed by a veto-proof margin of 40-7, with two council members abstaining, following an unsuccessful last-minute effort to delay the prohibition until 2030. The measure will prohibit horse-drawn carriage operations throughout all five boroughs beginning June 1, 2028, effectively eliminating an industry that has been part of New York City’s identity for generations.

Approximately 200 carriage drivers and owners face the prospect of losing their businesses, with many having invested substantial sums in city-issued licenses, horses, carriages, and other equipment. Their union has announced plans to challenge the measure in federal court, arguing that the city cannot eliminate the value of their businesses without providing meaningful financial compensation.

The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage industry workers, immediately condemned the council’s decision and warned that the legislation contains serious constitutional deficiencies.

“This bill is a train wreck of constitutional and due process violations,” Transport Workers Union president John Samuelsen said in a statement.

“It offers nothing concrete for blue-collar drivers and carriage owners who will be financially crushed, stripped of their jobs, their licenses, expensive city-issued medallions, small businesses, and way of life,” he added.

“It is not progressive. It is anti-worker. It’s theft.”

The measure, known as Romanch’s Law, was named in memory of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, an Indian tourist who died in June following a terrifying incident involving a runaway horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.

Mahajan had been riding with his family when the horse pulling their carriage suddenly became frightened and bolted. During the incident, Mahajan was thrown from the carriage and suffered fatal injuries. His death intensified a longstanding campaign by animal rights activists and elected officials seeking to eliminate the carriage industry.

His family subsequently called on city officials to prohibit the rides, arguing that earlier efforts to ban the industry could have prevented the tragedy.

“If [the prior legislation] had passed, the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026 — Romanch died on June 17,” his father, Deepak Mahajan, told a City Council hearing in July.

“This was not an unpredictable accident. Let his death not be in vain,” he added.

The fatal accident followed years of controversy surrounding the treatment of carriage horses, including several highly publicized incidents in which animals collapsed or died while working in the city. Animal welfare organizations have repeatedly argued that forcing horses to operate amid traffic, noise, extreme temperatures, and crowded streets is dangerous for both the animals and the public.

The latest legislative effort gained decisive momentum earlier this month when Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached an agreement to support the industry’s elimination. Both cited public safety and animal welfare concerns in backing the measure.

The agreement succeeded where previous administrations had failed. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio had pledged to eliminate horse-drawn carriages shortly after taking office, but his effort collapsed amid opposition from labor unions, carriage operators, and supporters of the longstanding tourist attraction. His successor, Eric Adams, also considered restrictions and a possible ban but never secured the necessary political support.

Thursday’s vote marked a dramatic reversal for an industry that had survived repeated attempts to remove it from Central Park.

Under the legislation, existing carriage licenses will expire at the end of May 2028, and the city will no longer permit the industry to operate. The measure also requires the Mamdani administration to develop a transition plan by April 1, 2027, outlining employment assistance and possible financial support for affected workers and business owners.

That plan is expected to include job placement assistance, career counseling, educational opportunities, and potential employment in the transportation and hospitality industries. However, the legislation does not guarantee that carriage operators will receive compensation for the value of their businesses, licenses, or equipment.

That omission has become a central point of contention for workers who say their entire financial futures are tied to the industry.

Some carriage medallions have been purchased for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and owners fear those investments will become worthless once the prohibition takes effect. Many drivers are immigrants who have spent decades establishing their businesses and have few comparable employment opportunities available to them.

Longtime carriage driver Atakan Aktay recently challenged Mamdani over what he described as an inconsistency between the mayor’s previous support for struggling taxi medallion owners and his current position toward carriage operators.

“Before you became mayor, you participated in a 15-day hunger strike to support yellow taxi medallion owners facing financial ruin,” Aktay said last week. “Now you are mayor, and we face the prospect of losing our businesses without guaranteed compensation.

“Where is that same compassion for us? How can you fight for one group of medallion owners while allowing another group to face financial devastation? To us, that feels hypocritical and humiliating,” Aktay added.

Other drivers have questioned why City Hall has singled out horse-drawn carriages while allowing electric bicycle delivery workers and pedicab operators to continue operating despite frequent complaints about dangerous driving and traffic violations.

Industry representatives have also maintained that carriage horses are already subject to extensive regulations governing their working hours, veterinary care, rest periods, and exposure to extreme weather. They argue that the city could strengthen enforcement of existing protections rather than eliminate the industry altogether.

The union has indicated that it intends to seek a temporary restraining order against the legislation, arguing that the prohibition violates constitutional protections against the taking of private property without just compensation.

Attorneys representing the union have specifically challenged the loss of valuable city-issued medallions and the restrictions that would prevent owners from selling their horses to other carriage businesses.

The city’s Law Department has expressed confidence that the legislation can withstand a legal challenge.

President Donald Trump also weighed in on the controversy Thursday, criticizing the decision to eliminate an attraction he described as a “Great Tradition.”

Trump questioned the reasoning behind shutting down an entire industry because of a tragic accident, arguing that similar logic could be applied to other forms of transportation involved in fatal incidents.

His comments added a national political dimension to a controversy that has divided New Yorkers over animal welfare, public safety, workers’ rights, and the preservation of the city’s historic character.

Meanwhile, questions remain about the future of the horses currently used by carriage operators. Although the legislation requires humane treatment and prohibits selling or transferring the animals for slaughter or use in another horse-drawn carriage business, it does not establish a fully funded program to relocate them.

Animal welfare organizations have proposed sending the horses to rescue farms and sanctuaries throughout the country, where they would no longer be used for commercial carriage rides. Several organizations have already expressed willingness to help arrange placements.

The animal rights group NYCLASS, which has spent years campaigning against the industry, celebrated the council’s decision as a major victory.

“New York City is finally ending deadly horse carriage rides,” the organization declared following the vote.

“We will work with the administration to ensure the horses retire to safe, loving rescue farms where they can finally run free.”

{Matzav.com}