Photo Credit: Horse drawn carriages in Central Park, New York. Wikimedia Commons / Gnangarra
After more than 165 years, New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry is coming to an end.
A bill passed by the New York City Council Thursday will phase out the horse-drawn cab industry by mid-2028. The rides have long been promoted to tourists, with a longtime carriage driver and stable manager calling it “one of the most iconic things to do” in the city.
“People from all over the world know about us and travel to New York to come for a carriage ride in the park. A ride in the park is folklore,” driver Conor McHugh said at a hearing earlier this year.
But the industry has long been criticized over animal welfare and safety concerns. A decades-long push to end the practice was revitalized this year after a teenage tourist from India, Romanch Mahajan, died in a June incident involving a runaway carriage horse.
"Passing this law proves not simply that we are committed to ma