Mamdani and Menin reach carriage-ban deal as union threatens federal suit

Council expected to approve June 2028 shutdown; horse-care terms remain unsettled

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached a deal on legislation that would shut down Central Park’s licensed horse-carriage industry in June 2028. The New York City Council is expected to approve the bill Thursday after decades of criticism from animal-rights activists. Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents carriage workers, said it would sue in federal court if the ban becomes law.

The bill requires the “humane disposition of carriage horses” and prohibits selling them for slaughter or for use in another horse-drawn-carriage business. Approximately 100 horses power the carriages licensed to operate in Central Park.

Mamdani said city officials were considering several proposals, including taking the horses to sanctuaries or farms. The legislation does not specify who would pay for their upkeep. It also is unclear whether drivers would be compensated for their horses or receive financial assistance if they want to retain ownership but need help paying for the horses’ care.

The legislation says the city will establish a horse-drawn-carriage industry-transition plan for carriage owners, drivers and stable workers, but it is light on details. Mamdani said those details would be more fully developed in the future, adding that the city has a civic responsibility to ensure drivers and carriage-medallion owners are taken into consideration.

Drivers, many of whom are immigrants, say the ban eliminates their livelihoods with no viable alternative offered. “I have always spoken about the importance of taking care of the workers in this industry, because they have earned their livelihoods from this work,” Mamdani said. “They should not be ones that are simply left as an afterthought of what comes after this.”

In June, an 18-year-old tourist from India was killed after being thrown from a runaway carriage in Central Park, spurring lawmakers to take action. The death marked the first human fatality in a horse-carriage accident.

Carriage opponents have also flagged other high-profile incidents involving the horses. A week before the tourist’s death, a 16-year-old horse collapsed and died in Central Park, setting off more finger-pointing between carriage opponents and Transport Workers Union Local 100, the union that represents about 150 carriage drivers and carriage owners. A preliminary necropsy report found that the horse had ingested a common but poisonous plant found in the park.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 and carriage drivers have long denied that the industry mistreats or abuses its horses. The city mandates annual five-week vacations for the horses and regular veterinary inspections. The city also limits the number of hours a horse can work daily and prohibits driving the horses when it is too hot or too cold. The union said the ban legislation does not provide guarantees that the horses would receive the level of care they now receive under city regulations.

The union called the tourist’s death over the summer tragic but said it was the only human fatality associated with an industry that has operated for more than 160 years. Transport Workers Union Local 100 said e-bike and scooter crashes regularly kill riders and pedestrians without lawmakers imposing similar bans. Several proposals targeting e-bikes, e-scooters, mopeds and delivery services have been considered by the New York City Council but have not received a vote, and Mamdani has taken measures to stop sales of illegal e-bikes in New York City.

“Council Speaker Menin used the tragic death of a tourist to contrive a public safety crisis,” Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen said. “This is disgraceful political opportunism, and Zohran should not simply go along with it, particularly when immigrant families’ livelihoods are being destroyed.”

Animal-rights activists have long called for banning or regulating the use of horses to pull carriages in New York City and have called the practice inhumane. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an animal-welfare organization, called for better treatment of the horses at the time of its founding in New York City in 1866.

Despite that criticism, horse carriages have remained part of the city’s fabric. The carriages previously traveled through other parts of New York City, but critics said their presence on busy streets posed a danger to the horses and the public. Carriages have since been restricted to Manhattan’s Central Park area, where they cater to tourists and have been featured in numerous films and television shows, including “Sex and the City.”

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to ban the carriage industry “on day one” during his 2013 campaign. He faced heavy pushback from unions, city-council members and drivers, some of whom suggested there was a link between his desire to sink the industry and his wealthy real-estate backers. Some horse stables inhabit valuable land on Manhattan’s west side.