See more of our coverage in your search results.
All bets are off.
A handful of angry horse-drawn carriage drivers in danger of unemployment rallied in Central Park Friday to demand the city trot back on its promise to kill the iconic and historic industry.
Nine union workers accused Mayor Zohran Mamdani of hypocrisy for brokering a deal that would kill their jobs, arguing the supposed working-class champion’s actions would drain their savings, destroy small businesses and endanger their families.
“Before you became mayor, you participated in a 15-day hunger strike to support yellow taxi medallion owners facing financial ruin … Now you are mayor, and we face the prospect of losing our businesses without guaranteed compensation,” fumed Atakan Aktay, a 13-year veteran driver who says he plunged his life savings into his business.
“Where is that same compassion for us? How can you fight for one group of medallion owners while allowing another group to face financial devastation? To us, that feels hypocritical and humiliating,” Aktay railed.
“We will not quietly surrender our life savings. We will fight for our families and our futures. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fairness, dignity, and justice.”
The rally at the park’s 59th Street and 7th Avenue entrance called for Mamdani, City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other politicians to enter back into negotiations with TWU Local 10 rather than plow forward with the current Romanch’s Law.
The bill — which Menin pledged to pass next week — would make horse-drawn carriages illegal to operate in the five boroughs beginning June 2028.
The legislation also states the city must create a workforce transition program involving career counseling and job referrals in the public and private sectors.
But the bill falls short of offering compensation for the workers, some of whom have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to build up their businesses, according to their union.
“This is not a plan. It’s a concept of a plan that sometime in the spring, the mayor will assign some agency to look at some consideration, to publish on a city website of what he’s going to do with absolutely no funding, no legislative mandate or anything,” said Cristina Hansen, horse carriage driver and TWU shop steward.
Hansen singled out Menin, who had supported the union workers until changing her position on the industry following the June death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, for whom the bill is named after.
“She calls herself a friend of labor. She is no friend of labor … This is going to hurt people. People are gonna get evicted, people are not gonna be able to take care of their kids or pay for their schools.”
In response, a spokesperson for Menin told The Post she would remain in conversation with the TWU in the years ahead.
“Speaker Menin was clear that the transition away from horse carriages in Central Park must include meaningful protections for the workers. Through thoughtful conversations with labor and other stakeholders, the Council developed a framework to ensure better economic opportunities for these New Yorkers,” her representative said.
City Hall told The Post the Mamdani administration has been working on a detailed plan for the transition of the workforce and industry, and “begun discussions” of compensation for medallion owners.
Mamdani earlier this week pledged “we are not leaving anybody out to dry,” but the statement was little consulation to the nearly 200 drivers and union workers whose careers are on the line.
“To Mamdani and Julie Menin and the rest of the city council, who are living blissfully in either ignorance or apathy: You claim to be progressive. You are repeating the negative parts of history in the city. You are showing all of your constituents that you have no intention to protect our workers,” said Danielle Slot, a carriage driver for 10 years.
Slot questioned why the politicians were zeroing in on the horse-drawn carriages when illegal pedicabs and e-bikes are whipping throughout the city and, in some cases, lead to fatal crashes.
Slot also read aloud the names of the nine taxi medallion drivers who committed suicide following intense financial pressures — and warned the same future could be in store for the carriage drivers.
“Nine suicides on your steps, and now this is the course of action that you are taking. I suppose it’s unsurprising, as you’re still prioritizing the destruction of our industry. After yet another death on your steps in recent months, caused by yet another e bike collision,” she continued.
“And we’re the priority. How exactly do you justify any of this?”