NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin have reached a deal to abolish the city’s horse carriage industry — a critical breakthrough in a decadeslong, politically fraught effort to ban the tourist attraction.
Since 2010, mayors and local legislative leaders have tried to outlaw horse-drawn carriages from operating in Central Park, citing concerns about the safety of the animals as several have died in accidents and from exhaustion. But despite broad popular support, the efforts have failed, in large part due to political pressure from New York’s powerful transport union, which advocates for hundreds of carriage drivers who make a living shuttling tourists on buggies around the park.
Now, that stalemate appears closer than ever to being broken.
In an announcement shared exclusively with POLITICO on Tuesday, a Menin spokesperson said Mamdani’s administration has agreed to back a bill that would make it illegal to operate a horse-drawn carriage in the city, starting in June 2028.