Horse-drawn carriages, a Central Park presence since 19th century, banned in historic City Council vote as union plans suit

The New York City Council voted on Thursday to abolish the horse-drawn carriage industry, following years of political tumult that pitted unionized labor against animal rights activism.

The bill passed late in the afternoon with 40 in favor, seven against and two abstentions. It's almost certain to become law, given the support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, ending an industry that dates to the 1860s in Central Park.

As voting was getting underway in the council chamber, former New Yorker Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to voice opposition, calling the industry "a quintessential New York experience" and the abolition "So sad."

Throughout Thursday, the City Hall grounds took on a Boschian air: top-hatted coachmen and coachwomen clad in outfits from a bygone era pleading for their jobs and threatening to sue; animal rights activists unfurling equine art and begging NYPD cops to be let past the building gates to witness the vote; a woman in a horse costume on the other side of the building explaining to passersby that she thinks the industry is humane.

The law will ban the industry in New York starting on June 1, 2028, under the latest version of the bill, Introduction 943-A.

The Transport Workers Union of America, which represents the 150 or so active drivers who own and/or operate 68 carriages, is planning to sue to overturn what the council passed as contrary to state and local law, according to union spokesman Pete Donohue. That lawsuit will be filed, he said, once the bill becomes law.

Under a deal reached earlier this month by Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin, there will be job training and, potentially, financial compensation for the drivers and owners and provisions for horses. But there are no guarantees, and it's up to the Mamdani administration to study and decide the extent of the compensation, if any.

For over 15 years, the controversy over horse-drawn carriage rides, which take place mostly in Central Park and are typically taken by tourists, has loomed over city politics, influencing elections as stakeholders poured money into campaigns, and candidate after candidate vowed to abolish the industry.

Adding to the intrigue are allegations made by the union that the push to ban horses is backed by the real estate industry, purportedly to develop the land on Manhattan’s West Side where the carriage horse stables are located. 

Yet long-promised bans never materialized.

That was until momentum toward a ban picked up speed earlier this year, when in June an 18-year-old tourist, Romanch Mahajan, was killed in Central Park after being thrown from a carriage after the carriage horse spooked and bolted. 

Trump, apparently referring to the death in his post, called it just "one tragic accident."

"When there is a car accident in the area, of which there are many, they don’t stop cars from entering the Park. So why would they stop the Carriages?" he wrote. (Cars have been banned in city parks for almost a decade, a rule inspired, in part, to prevent crashes.)

Despite the bill's passage, the industry is not going away without a fight.

Pro-horse carriage demonstrators have protested, hoping to persuade officials to change course. The drivers and their supporters rallied Thursday morning at City Hall. 

Animal rights activists have long bemoaned the horses’ treatment as cruel, which the horse-drawn carriage industry denies.

The legislation requires "the humane disposition of carriage horses" and would "prohibit their sale or transfer for inhumane purposes, such as for slaughter or for use in another horse drawn cab business."

A "horse drawn cab industry transition plan" would need to be drawn up by April 1, 2027, to include a "workforce transition program, consideration of a program to assist carriage horse owners with the disposition of their horses and equipment, and consideration of a program to provide compensation to horse drawn cab owners," according to a council summary.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.