Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have come together to strike a deal to end horse-drawn carriages in New York City . The move will put an end to a centuries-old practice and Central Park tradition that came under renewed scrutiny after a horse threw a teenage tourist to his death.
“The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable,” Menin said in a statement to the New York Post. “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,” Mamdani spokesperson Sneha Choudhary said in a statement. “Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City’s history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability.
Concerns grew this summer when an 18-year-old tourist, Romanch Mahajan, died after being thrown when a horse got spooked on his ride during a freak accident.
The teen’s family later said “the industry is responsible” for his death. “If [the prior legislation] had passed, the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026 — Romanch died on June 17,” the boy’s father, Deepak Mahajan, pleaded before the City Council at a July hearing. “This was not an unpredictable accident. Let his death not be in vain.”
