New York City Council Votes 40 to 7 to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages by June 2028

The New York City Council voted on Thursday, October 22, 2026, to ban horse-drawn carriages, ending a Central Park tradition that has run for more than 150 years. The bill passed 40 to 7, with two members abstaining, a veto-proof margin. Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports the measure and is expected to sign it.

The law is called Romanch's Law, Intro 943. It was sponsored by Council Member Christopher Marte and backed by Speaker Julie Menin. It stops the city from issuing new carriage licenses and ends carriage operations across all five boroughs on June 1, 2028.

What the law does

About 100 horses power the carriages licensed to work in Central Park, and about 200 drivers work in the industry, according to reports of the vote. The law requires the humane disposition of carriage horses and bans selling them for slaughter or for use in another horse-drawn carriage business. City officials said agencies named by the mayor will develop a transition plan before the June 2028 deadline. Mamdani said proposals include sending horses to sanctuaries or farms. The bill does not say clearly who will pay for their upkeep.

For drivers, the law pairs the phaseout with workforce support and job training for new work. Critics inside the industry said those promises are vague and carry no firm payment for licences, horses or lost income.

Why the council acted

Animal rights groups have pressed City Hall to end the trade for decades, arguing that horses should not pull carriages through traffic and summer heat. The push turned into law after two incidents in June 2026. On June 9, a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park. On June 17, Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India, was killed when the horse pulling his family's carriage, named Samson, spooked and bolted. Marte renamed the bill in Mahajan's honor.

The Council Health Committee held a hearing on the bill on July 15 that ran nearly 10 hours. Before Thursday's vote, the bill had 29 co-sponsors, more than the 26 needed to pass. A last-minute attempt to amend the bill and push the ban back to 2030 failed.

Horse carriages have run a loop in Central Park since the 1800s. By the mid-20th century the city had limited carriage licences to 68.

The union sued at once

The Transport Workers Union, which represents the drivers and owners, filed a lawsuit against the city moments after the vote and asked a court for a temporary restraining order. TWU International President John Samuelsen called the bill anti-worker. In a letter sent on Wednesday, union lawyers said the bill takes property from workers without just compensation and violates the federal and state constitutions. The union said it is not against rules for the industry.

President Donald Trump, who is from New York, also opposed the ban. He called horse carriages a great tradition and said they will be missed, writing on Truth Social that the horse-drawn carriage is a quintessential New York experience.

What happens next

Mamdani is expected to sign the law. If he does, no new licences will be issued, carriages will keep running under current rules during the phaseout, and the last legal rides will end on June 1, 2028, unless a court blocks the law.