For more than 160 years, the clip-clop of hooves has been part of the soundtrack of Central Park. That era now has an end date. On Thursday, the New York City Council voted 40 to 7, with two abstentions, to pass Romanch’s Law, which phases out horse-drawn carriage rides in and around the park by 1 June 2028.
The measure is named after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old visitor from India who died this summer after being thrown from a runaway carriage in the park. His death turned a debate that had dragged on since a first ban bill was introduced in 2007 into a political tipping point. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he supports the law and is expected to sign it, and the vote margin is large enough to withstand a veto in any case.
The law does more than set a deadline. City Hall must present a transition plan for drivers and stable workers by April 2027, including job referrals, career counselling, training and hiring fairs, and it must consider compensating owners for their businesses, licences and equipment. The council says more than 150 active drivers are affected.
The horses get protection too. By June 2027, every owner of a licensed carriage horse must certify that no animal will be sold for slaughter or moved into another carriage business. Owners may also keep their horses if they wish.
Not everyone is celebrating. Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents the drivers, rallied outside City Hall before the vote and say they have not yet seen details of the promised transition support. They argue their horses are well cared for and that a working tradition is being erased.
For travellers, the change is gradual. Carriage rides remain available for now, but anyone who has dreamed of a horse-drawn loop past the Bethesda Fountain has roughly two and a half years left to take it.
