On Tuesday, City Council Speaker Julie Menin's office announced that she and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had reached a deal on Romanch's Law, a bill that would end the city's horse-carriage industry. The ban would take effect June 1, 2028. The full Council votes on Thursday, Oct. 22. More than half of its 51 members already back the bill. The bill is named for Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India who died in June after a carriage horse bolted in Central Park. Mamdani had held out for more help for drivers, and the final bill would require a job-transition plan. On Tuesday night, he wrote on social media that "the horse carriage industry is coming to an end" and that his administration "will make sure workers and owners are protected and the horses are safe."

Central Park Got Too Busy for Horses (Julie Menin, Betsy Smith, Harvey Epstein)

The Council speaker and the park's managers say a crowded park can't safely hold carriage horses anymore.

The speaker says Mahajan's death proved the rides aren't safe. Menin said his "tragic and preventable" death made clear "the status quo is no longer acceptable." She called the carriages "a growing public safety liability" in "an increasingly busy Central Park."

The park's managers have been counting the accidents. The Central Park Conservancy, which runs the park, says Mahajan's death was the eighth horse-related incident in the park in just over a year. "For the Central Park Conservancy, this has always been a matter of public safety," Betsy Smith, the Conservancy's president and CEO, said Tuesday. City officials are also trying to manage bike, e-bike and pedestrian traffic on the park's loop, where three people, including Mahajan, have died in crashes since June, Gothamist reported.

A council member says the city is too hectic for horses now. Harvey Epstein leads the Council's animal welfare caucus. "We are too busy, too crazy of a city to have horses walking through the streets of New York," he told CBS News New York.

And the Horses Deserve to Retire (Edita Birnkrant, Christopher Marte, Wayne Pacelle)

Animal-rights advocates say the trade is cruel and that every horse can go to a safe home.

Animal advocates have called the business cruel for years. Activists say the horses are overworked, spook easily and live in bad stables. Owners deny it and say their horses are well cared for. Edita Birnkrant is executive director of NYCLASS, the group that has pushed hardest for a ban. "New Yorkers are done," she told Gothamist. "They want this over. They want these horses off the streets and retired into sanctuaries."

The bill's sponsor says horses and drivers both come out ahead. Council Member Christopher Marte called the deal "a win-win." He said it makes sure "these animals can retire and go to beautiful sanctuaries" and that the workers "are protected." The bill would also bar selling the horses for slaughter or to another carriage business.

Supporters call the slaughter warning a scare tactic. In August, the drivers' union warned that retired horses would face "the double-barreled risk of neglect and slaughter." NYCLASS says it has homes lined up for every horse that needs one. It also says the bill wouldn't force owners to give up their horses, which the law treats as property. Wayne Pacelle, who leads the group Animal Wellness Action, called the union's warning "a transparent scare tactic."

But Drivers Say the Bill Gives Them Almost Nothing (John Samuelsen, Christina Hansen)

The drivers' union says the bill offers job fairs instead of money, and it calls the ban political opportunism.

The union says the job help is too thin. John Samuelsen is president of the Transport Workers Union International, whose Local 100 represents the drivers. He said the bill "has no meaningful economic relief for workers" and offers only "weak measures like job fairs and job counseling." The bill would tell the city to "consider" paying owners for their businesses, horses and licenses. It wouldn't require the payments or set aside money for them. Menin's office says the transition plan would include job placement, training, career counseling, educational opportunities and financial compensation. Her office also says she'll set up a working group on the phase-out and invite the union and City Hall.

The union calls the whole ban opportunism. Samuelsen said Menin "used the tragic death of a tourist to contrive a public safety crisis." "Zohran should not simply go along with it, particularly when immigrant families' livelihoods are being destroyed," he said. Mamdani has courted the union's support, POLITICO reported.

Drivers say they'll lose their homes, and they plan to fight. Christina Hansen is a carriage driver and a shop steward for the union's Local 100. "People will be evicted. People will lose their houses," she told CBS News New York. She said the industry will fight the ban. The industry calls the ban unconstitutional and plans to sue if it passes, CBS reported.

Make the Rides Safer Instead of Ending Them (Ahmet Bilici, James Gennaro, Pete Donohue)

Drivers and a council ally say one fatal crash in more than 150 years calls for new safety rules, not a ban.

A ban is the wrong answer to one terrible crash, drivers say. Mahajan is believed to be the first person killed in a carriage accident since the rides began more than 150 years ago, according to the union and the Central Park Conservancy. At a July hearing, union spokesman Pete Donohue asked if the Council would also ban "walking, biking, scooters, taxi cabs, buses or the subway."

Drivers want hitching posts and tougher rules. Ahmet Bilici owns one of the city's 68 carriage medallions. "Why doesn't the city try to make it more safe instead of trying to ban them?" he told the New York Daily News in July. He says bikes and e-bikes are the real danger in the park. Council Member James Gennaro, a Queens Democrat, wrote a rival bill that would keep the rides going. It calls for stricter driver training and hitching posts.

Where This Lands

Menin and the Conservancy say a crowded park can't safely hold carriage horses anymore. NYCLASS calls the carriages cruel and says it has homes lined up for every horse. The union says the bill offers drivers job fairs instead of money, and its drivers say they'll fight in court. Drivers like Bilici want hitching posts and training instead of a ban. More than half the Council already backs the bill, and the vote is set for Thursday, Oct. 22.

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