NYC Council Grapples With Debate Over Bill To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Authored by Nicholas Zifcak via The Epoch Times,

The family of Romanch Mahajan delivered emotional testimony over video link and in person on July 15, during a New York City Council hearing about a law that would phase out carriage horse rides in Central Park.

Tearful aunts and uncles of the deceased 18-year-old urged city council to outlaw the horse-drawn carriage rides and spare other families the grief they are still struggling to cope with.

The law, renamed in honor of the teen from India who died on June 17, would stop the city from issuing new licenses and over two years phase out the horse-drawn carriage rides through Central Park by June 1, 2028.

Majahan was thrown from a carriage after the horse spooked and bolted during a ride with his family on June 17 during their visit to New York. At the time the carriage driver had stepped down to take a photo of the Mahajan family in the carriage. City law requires carriage drivers to hold the reins of horses at all times.

Testimony from the family was followed by city officials, animal rights activists, and the union representing carriage drivers, TWU Local 100.

On Tuesday, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced her support for the bill in a video on X, calling the teen’s death “heartbreaking and infuriating,” and preventable. She said it’s time “to begin the transition away from horse-drawn carriages. “

Multiple past attempts to end the horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park have failed. The previous bill, Ryder’s law, introduced in 2022, was blocked by then-Speaker Adrienne Adams, according to former council member Bob Holden, who introduced the bill and attended Wednesday’s hearing to testify.

City Council members focused on how to help the 208 drivers navigate a career change and how to make sure horses are not sold for meat or end up pulling a carriage somewhere else.

Dr. Gabriel Cook, a veterinarian who was hired by carriage owners to look after the health of their horses, said the bill would be a death sentence for the horses. He said many horse retirement sanctuary facilities struggle financially and are not necessarily a better environment for the horses than their current stables.

Council Member James Gennaro of Queens berated city officials for lax enforcement of city law, demanding to know how many carriage medallions were revoked or suspended for violations in recent years.

“What have you done to enforce?” asked Gennaro when questioning Carlos Ortiz, the deputy commissioner at the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Ortiz said there have been suspensions but could not provide exact numbers.

Gennaro favors reforming the industry and introduced a bill on June 11 that would require the city to study ways to improve safety for horses by such improvements as allowing pitching posts in the park to tie horses up and allowing them to start working at 7 a.m., when temperatures are cooler.

Ashley Byrne of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), echoed Gennaro’s argument of “little to no enforcement from the city,” leading to the injury and death of a long list of horses over the past several decades.

Gennaro challenged Byrne in a heated exchange about what PETA has done for horses after the death in June of carriage horse Deniz, which TWU Local 100 has said died from eating poisonous Japanese yew that the Central Park Conservancy had planted within reach of the carriage route. Gennaro said he organized a campaign and reached out to the Conservancy.

“What have I done about a plant?” Byrne shot back at Gennaro as the audience jeered the council member. But Gennaro’s allotted time was up.

Speaking on the topic on July 14, Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed concern that adequate assistance be provided to carriage drivers, who would be put out of work.

“We support the spirit of the bill,” Mamdani told reporters, speaking at an unrelated press conference on July 14 in Inwood, Manhattan.

He suggested that the council do more to make sure drivers and stable hands employed in the industry find new employment.