New York City Council passed the Romanch's Law Bill to phase out Central Park carriages by June 2028. The measure links public and animal safety with transition support for affected workers.Newyork,Oct 23, 2026 21:12 ISTThe New York City Council has passed a Bill to end horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park following the death of 18-year-old Indian tourist Romanch Mahajan in a carriage incident this summer, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Romanch’s Law will phase out horse-drawn carriages by June 1, 2028, while providing protections for workers whose livelihoods depend on the industry.
The Council approved the Bill on Thursday by 40 votes to seven, with two abstentions. It will now go to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his signature.The legislation was named after Mahajan, who died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.
Following his death, the City Council held a hearing to consider legislative measures to wind down the industry and hear from horse-drawn cab owners and operators.The industry will be phased out over the next 19 months under a framework intended to ensure a safe and orderly transition for workers and horses, the City Council said in a statement, according to PTI. Calling the passage of the legislation historic, Council Speaker Julie Menin said Mahajan’s “tragic and preventable” death “underscored the need for urgent action after decades of mounting concerns”.“From longstanding animal welfare concerns and increasingly extreme heat conditions to historic overcrowding in Central Park, which now welcomes more than 42 million visitors annually, the status quo has become unsustainable and unsafe for horses and people alike,” Menin said.
She said the vote demonstrated the Council’s commitment to animal welfare, public safety and worker protection. The Council had heard hours of testimony from carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates, city officials and residents.“The resulting plan establishes a deadline to phase out the industry while ensuring the development of a comprehensive workforce transition that will protect the livelihoods of the hardworking New Yorkers who depend on it,” Menin said.The Bill, sponsored by Council Member Christopher Marte, will prohibit the issuance of licences for carriage horses, horse-drawn cabs and their drivers on or after June 1, 2028.
Licences active when the Bill takes effect will permanently expire on May 31, 2028, and will no longer be subject to renewal requirements.Marte said that after decades of debate, the persistence of advocates and the “courage of the Mahajan family have helped us reach a point where we can retire these horses safely and help workers build their next chapter”.Animal Wellness Action welcomed the vote, describing it as a major milestone in the decades-long campaign to protect horses from the dangers of working in one of the world’s busiest urban environments.“This achievement reflects years of dedicated advocacy and the determination of people who refused to give up on a more humane future for New York City,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Centre for a Humane Economy, according to PTI.Earlier this month, Mamdani and Menin agreed on the legislation to end the use of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. The proposed law was previously called Ryder’s Law after a 26-year-old carriage horse that collapsed in the city in August 2022 while being forced to pull a carriage.Ryder died in October 2022.
Following its death, animal rights and advocacy groups, including the Animal Legal Defence Fund, called for city legislation to ban and replace horse-drawn carriages in New York City.After Mahajan’s death, the Central Park Conservancy, which is entrusted by the City of New York with the park’s day-to-day care, said: “This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health. A young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life.
That is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America.”Romanch’s Law will therefore bring the horse-drawn carriage industry in Central Park to an end by June 2028, while setting out a transition process for affected workers and horses.With PTI Inputs- Ends