Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin struck a deal to ban horse-drawn carriages citywide starting June 2028 after a teen tourist died.
The Post reported that Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached an agreement to outlaw the long-running Central Park rides across New York City’s five boroughs, with a council vote expected on Oct. 22.
Council Member Christopher Marte is the bill’s prime sponsor. The measure, renamed Romanch’s Law, would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages beginning in June 2028. Menin told Politico the council would float the bill the following week with the mayor’s backing.
The push gained force after 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan was thrown to his death this summer when a horse got spooked during a ride. His father later told the council the tragedy was not an unpredictable accident.
Deepak Mahajan pleaded before the City Council at a July hearing and demanded a ban. The family declared the industry responsible for the teenager’s death.
Mahajan tied the loss directly to earlier legislative failure.
"[If [the prior legislation] had passed], the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026, Romanch died on June 17."
He added a direct charge and a plea.
"This was [not an unpredictable accident]. Let his death not be in vain."
That timeline sits against years of stalled efforts. Several bills banning the practice were introduced and died. Previous iterations carried the name of Ryder, a carriage horse that collapsed and later died after a day of work in the August 2022 heat.
Over the past year, multiple horses dropped dead or fainted on the job. Several others tried to run loose with the cart still attached. City leaders now frame the centuries-old Central Park tradition as a mounting liability in a busier park.
Menin cast the deal as overdue protection for people and animals alike.
"Horse-drawn carriages have long been part of New York City’s history, but in an increasingly busy Central Park, this tradition has become a growing public safety liability."
She pledged quick council action.
"Next week, the Council will take decisive action by voting on [this bill] to protect New Yorkers, visitors, and the horses themselves."
Marte celebrated the speaker’s announcement and said the bill would secure “human futures for the horses.” He claimed majority support and set a firm date for the vote.
"We are ready to get Romanch’s Law across the finish line on October 22 and finally bring this unsafe and outdated industry to an end."
Marte added that the council majority intends to “finish the job” for New Yorkers, visitors, workers, and animals. The effective date still leaves the carriages running until mid-2028 if the bill passes as described.
Mamdani’s backing is central to the agreement, yet a mayoral spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The mayor’s pattern of selective public engagement has already drawn notice in other fights, including when Mamdani declined a Brooklyn Columbus Day parade invite and left Queens organizers without a reply.
City Hall is moving fastest here on a progressive priority with a long runway. The same mayor has spent heavy political capital on foreign-policy messaging that sparked backlash, as when Bill Maher branded Mamdani tone deaf for turning an Oct. 7 tribute into an attack on Israel.
He has not retreated from that lane. Coverage of how Mamdani stood firm on an Israel “genocide” charge showed a mayor comfortable holding hard left lines even under pressure.
Television voices piled on over the same anniversary remarks. A View panelist blasted Mamdani over his Oct. 7 statement, and an Israeli U.N. envoy condemned him for converting a day of mourning into anti-Israel commentary. The carriage ban now gives him a local signature win with animal-welfare allies while those other storms continue.
If the council approves Romanch’s Law on the expected date, the ban would not hit the street for roughly a year and a half after the vote. Drivers and owners would keep operating through peak tourist seasons until the June 2028 start date written into the deal.
Nothing in the public description of the bill details penalties, enforcement, or where the horses would go once the carriages stop. Marte’s statements focus on ending what he calls an unsafe and outdated industry. Menin’s focus stays on liability inside a crowded Central Park.
The record shows repeated earlier attempts failed, a horse named Ryder died after working in extreme heat, more horses collapsed or bolted over the past year, and an 18-year-old visitor died on June 17 after a spooked horse threw him. Only after that death did the mayor and speaker lock arms behind a citywide prohibition with a delayed fuse.
New Yorkers can judge the priorities for themselves: a mayor who goes quiet on a local industry ban, talks tough on contested foreign claims, and still leaves the carriages rolling until 2028.
