Horse-drawn carriage rides through Central Park draw visitors who describe the experience as a contrast between an older aesthetic and the surrounding urban landscape. A ban on horse-drawn carriages operating along city streets — approved by the New York City Council on October 22 — is set to take effect on June 1, 2028. The measure would bring an end to a practice maintained across more than 15 decades.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has lent his support to the prohibition, which follows an extended period of discussion in which animal welfare and public safety concerns were weighed. Passed on June 17, the measure carries the name of Romanch Mahajan — a visitor from India who was 18 years old at the time of a fatal horse-carriage incident in Central Park.
During a family trip to New York, Mahajan and his relatives took a horse-drawn carriage through the park. Reports of the horse bolting surfaced after the driver apparently stepped away from the vehicle to take a photograph. Mahajan was dislodged from the carriage during the incident, sustaining wounds from which he did not recover, an outcome later confirmed by medical staff at the hospital.
In the aftermath of that incident, local government representatives and animal-welfare advocates began pressing more openly for an end to the horse-drawn carriage trade — an industry that has faced recurring questions about the treatment of horses and the risks posed to carriage passengers and pedestrians alike. A pattern of equestrian-related events within the park has drawn attention to questions of visitor safety.
Carriage rides pulled by horses through Central Park remain available to the public under current rules until the prohibition comes into force. Visitors have drawn on these rides as one way to move through the park, passing by its walkways, bridges, and various points of interest. Fares for a 20-minute journey run at roughly $72, though the final amount can differ depending on conditions, media outlets have noted.
Starting June 1, 2028, a newly enacted law will bring an end to the use of horse-drawn carriages on public roads. Pedestrians and cyclists are also free to move through Central Park, taking in its gardens, pathways, and points of interest at their own pace.
Figures drawn from a broadcast news report put the number of drivers in the Central Park carriage industry at roughly 200, with a portion of those workers voicing concern over the prospect of losing their jobs. Plans for displaced workers — covering possible job placement and retraining pathways — are now being drawn up by municipal authorities.
Safeguards built into the law would bar the horses from being handed over for slaughter or placed into comparable working conditions. Horse-drawn carriage operators and their union have contested the proposed prohibition, arguing that the horses are well looked after and that the trade sustains a considerable number of livelihoods. Questions about compensation and the logistics of moving the animals have also been put forward by the group.
