New York: The horse-drawn carriages that have cruised through Central Park for more than 150 years will soon be banished from New York City, ending an iconic tradition beloved by tourists but long opposed by animal welfare activists.
For the carriage drivers, it’s unclear what comes next.
“No one can come up with an appropriate answer because there is none,” said Alexus Lawson, a 28-year-old carriage driver from Queens who grew up with horses and has worked as a riding instructor. Now, she worries about what would become of 7-year-old Starlight and her other horses.
“Without a job, how can I take care of my horses?”
The New York City Council passed a bill Thursday that would ban horse-drawn carriage rides by June 2028, pulling back the reins after the death of a teenage tourist last spring.
But the one question that has come up time and again - what to do with drivers whose jobs would be eliminated - remains largely unanswered.
The legislation requires Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office to develop a plan by next April to help the more than 150 remaining drivers and the rest of the industry find other jobs, though its provisions are vague and doesn’t set clear benchmarks for displaced workers. Instead, it requires City Hall to come up with a programme that includes job referrals, career counseling and educational opportunities. It also allows the administration to consider some form of compensation for industry workers.
The mayor’s office has been working on a workforce transition programme and has started discussions on potential compensation, according to City Hall.
“The mayor will sign this bill, and the Mamdani administration is working every day to ensure we can do so while providing the strongest possible protections for the owners and workers in this industry,” a spokesperson for the mayor said.
Carriage drivers wonder about their future
Medet Fidan, a former cab driver who traded his steering wheel for a set of reins after ride-hailing apps upended the taxi industry, said he felt like he was being targeted.
“I think the city is leaving us a big mess,” said Fidan, 56. “We’re going to lose our businesses, we’re going to lose our jobs, we’re going to lose our livelihoods.”
Council Speaker Julie Menin “will remain engaged in the transition process,” a spokesperson said, adding that the legislation seeks to address the longstanding question of what happens to out-of-work carriage drivers by setting a firm deadline for City Hall to act.
“These workers deserve to be protected,” said Menin, who helped spearhead the ban and has argued horses no longer have a place among Central Park’s pedestrians, cyclists, dog-walkers and gawking tourists.
The union representing carriage drivers had vowed to file a legal challenge “the minute the ink dries” on the legislation.
Betsy Smith, the head of the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park, cheered the passage of the bill.
“In the modern era, carriages pose a serious - and even fatal - safety risk to Park visitors, carriage drivers, and the horses themselves,” she said in a statement.
Trump opposed ban, saying a ‘Great Tradition’ will be missed
President Donald Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower is a stone’s throw from Central Park, bemoaned the ban and called carriage rides “a quintessential New York experience.”
“It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that’s gone. It will be missed!” Trump wrote on social media.
Two of Mamdani’s mayoral predecessors had called to end the industry but neither succeeded.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio campaigned on ending the rides on day one of his administration but the effort wilted amid a backlash from unions and a big media blitz involving actor Liam Neeson. Eric Adams, the mayor just before Mamdani, floated a ban late in his term but the proposal went nowhere.
Latest push to end the rides began after a tourist’s death
The latest push began in June after an 18-year-old Indian tourist, Romanch Mahajan, died after jumping from a runaway carriage during a ride. His death appeared to be the first fatality involving a horse carriage in Central Park since the rides began.
Mahajan’s family has personally appealed to the city to end the rides, offering tearful testimony that they thought the rides were safe. His uncle, Gaurav Mahajan, praised the proposal during a rally Thursday, saying “the hour of justice has finally arrived,” as he stood beside local lawmakers and animal welfare activists.
“We’re turning our shattering loss into an unbreakable shield of kindness for the city. For months, our family hasn’t been allowed to just grieve,” he said. “We’ve had to fight. We’ve had to channel our devastating sorrow into a war for change.”
Carriage drivers have expressed sympathy for Mahajan and his family but argue that they are being unfairly targeted because of a single accident.
“It does nothing for alternate employment, for the continuation of our businesses,” said Christina Hansen, a longtime carriage driver and industry spokesperson. “Who’s going to pay my rent while I’m looking for a job?”