New York bans horse-drawn carriages after 160 years

New York City has voted to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park after more than 160 years, with the prohibition taking effect in June 2028 under legislation dubbed Romanch's Law. The move, supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Central Park Conservancy, responds to mounting public-safety and animal-welfare concerns: an 18-year-old tourist died this summer when a carriage horse bolted, a carriage horse died after eating a toxic plant, city records cite about 40 carriage-horse deaths since 1982, and officials say there were seven horse-related incidents in the past 13 months including collisions and horses running into traffic.

Roughly 200 carriage drivers, many of whom earn about $60,000-$70,000 a year and say they deeply care for their animals, have opposed the ban and warn it will destroy livelihoods; the Transport Workers Union says the law lacks guaranteed compensation and worries horses could be sold to slaughter without support. The legislation includes an "industry transition framework" proposing job placement, training, career counselling and financial support, forbids selling horses for slaughter and allows owners to keep animals. Public opinion is split between those who view carriages as a New York tradition and those who call them unsafe and confining for horses, while animal-rights groups have long campaigned against the practice.