NYC bans horse-drawn carriages after 160 years
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Seeing horses in Central Park will soon mean you’re probably watching Home Alone 2. The New York City Council voted yesterday to ban hired horse-drawn carriages in the city by June 2028, ending the 160-year tourist tradition.
Tragedy inspired the measure: The law instituting the ban is named after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist who died in Central Park this spring after falling from a carriage drawn by an uncontrollably galloping horse. It comes after years of advocacy by animal rights activists, who argued that the horses are overworked and stressed by the hectic urban environment, endangering humans.
Not just horses out of work
The union representing 200 carriage industry workers said it will sue the city over the ban, noting that Mahajan’s tragic death was the first fatality involving a Central Park horse:
- Drivers say it decimates their livelihoods and annuls the value of the city-issued carriage medallion permits, which reportedly trade for as much as $400,000 on the secondary market.
- Coachmen also worry about what to do with the horses, as the bill forbids their sale for slaughter or carriage work elsewhere.
Looking ahead: The city said it will come up with a plan to help carriage workers switch careers and explore ways to compensate medallion owners.—SK
