New York plans to ban Central Park's horse-drawn carriages after teen's death

Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City lawmakers plan to ban horse-drawn carriages from Central Park, ending their more than 150-year run as an iconic, old-timey tourist attraction, following decades of opposition from animal welfare activists and the death of a teenage tourist last spring.

The City Council is expected to approve a bill next week that would end the rides by 2028. Three consecutive mayors had called for an end to the carriage rides because of safety concerns, only to have lawmakers yank back the reins.

A spokesperson for Julie Menin, the council speaker, confirmed the incoming vote and said the proposal had enough support to pass. Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office said he had reached a deal with the speaker on the legislation.

"The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City," Mamdani said in a social media post.

The latest push for a ban started in June, when 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, visiting the city from India, died after jumping from a runaway horse carriage during a ride with family members. His death, which appeared to be the first fatality in a horse carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park, reignited the debate over whether carriages, a romantic throwback to the city's past, have a place in a modern metropolis.

Mahajan's family has appeared at City Hall, in person and through videoconference calls from India, begging the city to finally end the rides.

"We are shattered, our whole family shattered. The pain does not go away," his father, Deepak Mahajan, told city council members via a videocall during a hearing for the bill last summer, saying his son leapt from the carriage to try and help his mother, who was flung from her seat, after the horse bolted. "Every morning we wake up and think of nothing but the loss of our son."

For decades, animal welfare activists and other critics have decried the carriage industry, arguing horses shouldn't be hauling tourists around busy streets and Central Park while having to navigate bustling traffic and gawking passersby. In the past, horses have collapsed, gotten startled and run off, hitting cars or other objects, with each accident resulting in fresh calls for a ban.

"The tragic and preventable death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan made clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable. Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City's history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability," Menin said in a statement.

The industry and its supporters have long cast the rides as a way for visitors to experience the New York they know from classic movies and television.