The New York City Council has voted to ban horse-drawn carriages from city streets and Central Park, ending a historic tourist attraction and longstanding industry.
Forty of the city’s 51 council members supported the bill, which was backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who earlier this month said the horse-drawn carriage industry would come to an end.
Seven voted against it and two abstained.
If the mayor signs it, the ban will go into effect in June of 2028.
The lead-up is meant to help the approximately 150 active carriage drivers find new employment, city council speaker Julie Menin said.
Critics say the animals suffer, pointing to deadly collapses and dangerous escapes, while advocates point to the jobs they create and the heritage they uphold.
The bill included a provision for exploring potential compensation for licence holders, Ms Menin said.
It prevents owners of the nearly 200 horses from selling them for slaughter or for other horse-carriage businesses.
Support for the ban grew after the death this summer of Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India.
Mr Mahajan was thrown from a carriage and died on June 17, when the horse bolted after the driver stepped away to take a picture of Mahajan’s family.
That followed a series of other incidents with the carriages, including the deaths of several horses.
The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the US’s most frequented urban park with 42 million annual visits, threw its weight behind the calls for a ban, saying it had become “a matter of public health and safety”.
US President Donald Trump, who has both attacked Mamdani and held cordial meetings with him, expressed scepticism about the ban.
Forty of the city’s 51 council members supported the bill. (Reuters: Eduardo Munoz)
“When there is a car accident in the area, of which there are many, they don’t stop cars from entering the Park,” Mr Trump wrote.
“So why would they stop the Carriages? It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that’s gone. It will be missed!”
Mr Trump’s business empire is headquartered in Trump Tower, minutes from Central Park.
The day before the vote, the Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage business owners and drivers, said that if the bill was enacted, it would seek a temporary restraining order from a court “the minute the ink dries”, according to a letter sent to New York City Corporation counsel Steve Banks.
“This may be the first time in City history that a previously licensed profession was banned,” the letter signed by principal attorney Arthur Schwartz said.
“The proposed bill deprives the owner of all economically beneficial or productive use of their property.”
Reuters/AFP
