Facing a ban on horse-drawn carriages, Central Park’s drivers fear for their future
New York Moves Toward Ending Central Park Horse Carriage Rides
Healfromzero.com – New York City is preparing to close the chapter on one of Central Park’s most recognizable traditions: horse-drawn carriage rides. A City Council measure approved Thursday calls for the industry to be phased out by June 2028, ending rides that have operated around the park for more than 150 years.
The decision follows the death of 18-year-old Indian tourist Romanch Mahajan last spring. Mahajan died after he jumped from a runaway carriage during a ride, in what appeared to be the first fatal accident connected to a Central Park horse carriage since the service began. His family has urged city leaders to stop the rides, saying they had believed the experience was safe.
For animal welfare advocates, the vote represents a long-sought victory. For drivers, however, it has brought a sharp new uncertainty over employment, businesses and the care of the horses that remain at the center of the dispute.
A deadline for a workforce plan
The legislation directs Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to produce a transition plan by next April for the city’s more than 150 remaining carriage drivers. The proposal calls for career guidance and referrals to available positions in transit, hospitality and taxi-related fields. It also gives City Hall room to consider compensation for affected workers.
A spokesperson for the mayor said the administration is developing a more detailed workforce-transition plan and has begun talks about possible compensation. Mamdani has said the city has a responsibility to prevent workers from being abandoned as the industry closes.
“No one can come up with an appropriate answer because there is none,” said Alexus Lawson, a 28-year-old carriage driver from Queens.
Lawson grew up around horses, has worked as a riding instructor and worries especially about Starlight, a 7-year-old horse, along with her other animals. The loss of work, she said, raises an immediate practical concern for owners who depend on carriage income.
“Without a job, how can I take care of my horses?”
That question has remained central even as the political momentum behind a ban has grown. A carriage operation is not simply a job for many drivers; it is also a business tied to animal care, equipment and longstanding routines around Central Park.
Drivers say their livelihoods are at risk
Medet Fidan, 56, entered the carriage trade after ride-hailing services disrupted his earlier work as a cab driver. He said the planned ban feels like another upheaval aimed at workers who have already had to adjust to major shifts in New York’s transportation economy.
“I think the city is leaving us a big mess,” Fidan said. “We’re going to lose our businesses, we’re going to lose our jobs, we’re going to lose our livelihoods.”
Christina Hansen, a longtime driver and spokesperson for the industry, said drivers sympathize with Mahajan’s relatives but believe one accident should not determine the future of every operator. She argued that the legislation does not yet provide a clear path for keeping businesses afloat while workers seek new jobs.
“It does nothing for alternate employment, for the continuation of our businesses,” Hansen said. “Who’s going to pay my rent while I’m looking for a job?”
The union representing carriage drivers has promised to challenge the law in court as soon as it is signed. That legal fight could become a major part of the industry’s final years, even as the city works toward its 2028 deadline.
A decades-long political argument
Efforts to eliminate horse carriage rides have surfaced repeatedly in New York politics. Two earlier mayors backed ending the practice but failed to make it happen. Bill de Blasio campaigned on stopping the rides on his first day in office, but resistance from unions and a high-profile campaign involving actor Liam Neeson helped derail the effort. Eric Adams later raised the possibility of a ban near the end of his administration, but that proposal did not advance.
The latest measure gained urgency after Mahajan’s death in June. At a Thursday rally, his uncle, Gaurav Mahajan, stood with lawmakers and animal welfare advocates and described the legislation as a response to the family’s painful loss.
“The hour of justice has finally arrived,” Gaurav Mahajan said.
“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.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the legislation establishes a deadline for the city to address the future of displaced workers, while arguing that horses no longer belong in the crowded setting of Central Park, where pedestrians, cyclists, dog walkers and visitors share the space.
“These workers deserve to be protected,” Menin said Thursday.
An iconic experience enters its final phase
The industry’s supporters see carriage rides as part of the city’s character and tourism appeal. President Donald Trump, whose Trump Tower sits close to Central Park, criticized the move on social media and called the rides “a quintessential New York experience.”
“It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that’s gone. It will be missed!” Trump wrote.
The coming transition will test whether New York can balance public safety, animal welfare concerns and the needs of workers whose livelihoods depend on the tradition. The Council has set the destination, but many of the practical details—including employment, compensation and arrangements for the horses—remain unresolved.
By June 2028, Central Park’s streets are expected to look different. Before then, City Hall will face pressure to show that ending the rides does not leave carriage drivers and their animals without a viable future.
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