NEW YORK – New York City’s horse-drawn carriages, a cinematic fixture of Central Park for over 150 years, are set to disappear. City lawmakers announced plans this week to phase out the iconic, old-timey tourist attraction by 2028, marking a definitive end to a debate that has simmered for decades between nostalgia and safety.
The City Council is expected to approve the ban next week, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirming he has reached a deal with Council Speaker Julie Menin to finalize the legislation. “The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,” Mamdani declared in a social media post.
The legislative push follows years of relentless opposition from animal welfare activists, but the catalyst for the final decision was the tragic death of an 18-year-old tourist last spring. Romanch Mahajan, visiting from India, died after jumping from a runaway carriage during a ride with his family. His death—believed to be the first fatality in the history of the park’s carriage operations—horrified the public and reignited calls to modernize the city’s streets.
During a legislative hearing last summer, the victim’s father, Deepak Mahajan, addressed the Council via videocall, describing the family’s lasting trauma. “We are shattered, our whole family shattered,” he said. “The pain does not go away.”
For decades, critics have argued that forcing horses to navigate New York’s dense traffic and bustling crowds is inhumane and dangerous. While the industry has long been romanticized in classics like “The Band Wagon” and “Home Alone 2,” proponents of the ban argue that the city’s modern congestion has rendered the tradition a public safety liability.
“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Speaker Menin said in a statement.
The move marks a victory where previous administrations failed. Both former mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams had attempted to address the industry, only to stall in the face of heavy resistance from unions and industry supporters. The Transport Workers Union International has slammed the current proposal, with President John Samuelsen calling it “disgraceful political opportunism” that ignores the economic toll on immigrant workers.
In an attempt to mitigate the fallout, the legislation mandates that the mayor’s office develop a workforce transition plan for affected drivers. It also includes provisions to ensure that horses currently used in the industry are retired in a “humane manner,” explicitly prohibiting owners from selling them for slaughter.
“I think we have a civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry,” Mayor Mamdani told reporters on Wednesday.
While the city has previously implemented strict regulations—including vacation requirements and temperature limits for the horses—the Council’s upcoming vote signals that, for many, the time for half-measures has passed. By 2028, the steady clip-clop of hooves in Central Park will join the ranks of the city’s fading history.
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