NYC Votes to Retire Horse Carriages by 2028 After Long Fight
WHO:
Bloomberg Markets - New York City’s City Council voted to ban horse-drawn carriages.
ABC News - The City Council approved Romanch’s Law; the vote was 40 to 7, with two abstentions.
ABC News - The law is named for Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old Indian tourist who was killed during a Central Park carriage ride.
ABC News - City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the carriages had become a safety risk.
ABC News - The Transport Workers Union represents roughly 150 horse-drawn carriage drivers. TWU Local 100 administrative vice president Alexander Kemp said, “We will see them in court.”
ABC News - The Central Park Conservancy, which operates Central Park, praised the decision.
WHAT:
Drudge Report - The headline described New York City as passing a horse-carriage ban that would end a Central Park tradition.
Bloomberg Markets - The Council’s vote would end a Central Park tourist staple dating to the 19th century.
ABC News - Romanch’s Law would prohibit new licenses for horse-drawn cabs and phase out the carriages by June 1, 2028.
ABC News - The bill prohibits the horses from being sold to slaughterhouses.
ABC News - The vote was veto-proof. Animal-rights groups and park advocates praised it; the drivers’ union threatened legal action.
ABC News - The bill establishes a workforce transition program for drivers, including job placement, training, career counseling and financial compensation.
WHERE:
Bloomberg Markets - The carriage rides are a Central Park tourist attraction.
ABC News - Mahajan was killed during a ride in Central Park. Investigators said the carriage clipped another carriage’s wheel and toppled.
ABC News - The union protested outside City Hall.
WHEN:
ABC News - The carriages are to be phased out by June 1, 2028.
WHY:
ABC News - Supporters cited incidents in which horses crashed or caused disturbances. The discussion intensified after Mahajan’s death.
ABC News - Menin said the carriages did not belong in an area attracting 42 million people a year, pulling a 1,000-pound carriage in record heat.
ABC News - The Conservancy said Mahajan’s death was “the ninth carriage-related incident in just over a year.”
HOW:
ABC News - The union informed the city’s law department that it would seek a temporary restraining order “the minute the ink dries.”
ABC News - Kemp called the bill “blatantly unconstitutional” and said it offered “nothing but a plan to draft a plan,” with “nothing concrete” for workers, carriage owners and family members facing “total economic devastation.”
ABC News - Earlier mayoral efforts by Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams to ban the carriages lacked sufficient City Council support.
ABC News - In another cited incident, a horse ran loose and crashed into cars in January.
(UPDATED October 23, 2026 00:09 UTC)
New York City’s City Council has voted to ban horse-drawn carriages, ending a Central Park tourist tradition that dates back to the 19th century. The council approved Romanch’s Law by a veto-proof vote of 40 to 7, with two abstentions. Named for 18-year-old Indian tourist Romanch Mahajan, the law follows his death in a carriage ride; investigators said the carriage clipped another’s wheel and toppled. Supporters also cited other incidents, including a horse running loose and crashing into cars. The measure blocks new carriage licenses and phases out the rides by June 1, 2028, while prohibiting horses from being sold to slaughterhouses. It also creates a transition program for drivers, with job placement, training, counseling and compensation. The Central Park Conservancy praised the vote, but the drivers’ union says it will seek a temporary restraining order and calls the law unconstitutional.