Mayor Zohran Mamdani has agreed to back a bill supported by City Council Speaker Julie Menin that would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages beginning in June 2028, Politico reported. The city council is expected to vote on the legislation next week.
“The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City. Our administration will make sure workers and owners are protected and the horses are safe,” Mamdani wrote on X on Tuesday.
Horse-drawn carriage rides have long been a popular tourist attraction in Central Park, but animal rights activists have expressed concern over the treatment of horses. Multiple horses have died since 2020, occasionally collapsing during carriage rides. The push for a ban increased over the summer after an 18-year-old tourist died after being thrown from a carriage.
While there has been broad support for a ban, officials have struggled to push legislation forward because the Transport Workers Union, which advocates for carriage drivers, raised concerns about drivers’ livelihoods. Mamdani had previously signaled support but expressed concerns about insufficient worker protections in the bill.
John Samuelsen, the international president of the Transport Workers Union, told Politico the bill gave “no meaningful economic relief for workers.” “This is disgraceful political opportunism, and Zohran should not simply go along with it, particularly when immigrant families’ livelihoods are being destroyed,” Samuelsen said.
A copy of the finalized bill, shared with Politico, includes language requiring the city to create a workforce transition program to give carriage drivers career counseling and referrals to other job opportunities. The bill also requires the city to “consider” establishing a program to compensate carriage owners for the value of their businesses. It requires drivers to dispose of their horses humanely, prohibiting them from being sold or transported for slaughter or for other horse-drawn carriage industries.