New York City is to ban Central Park horse-drawn carriages by 2028 after Indian tourist was killed in a runaway accident
Romanch Mahajan with his family, whose death in a Central Park runaway carriage accident in June prompted New York City to agree to ban horse-drawn carriages entirely by 2028.A carriage horse bolts in Central Park; under Romanch's Law, due for a City Council vote on 22 October, unionised drivers are to receive job placement, training and financial compensation.
Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old Indian tourist, died in June after a runaway horse sent his mother tumbling from their carriage; he jumped out after her and suffered a fatal head injury when he hit the ground. His death broke a political deadlock that had persisted for decades, and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Mayor Zohran Mamdani have reached an agreement to wind down the 168-year-old industry entirely by June 2028. Romanch's Law goes to a City Council vote on October 22 and has lined up 29 sponsors — enough to command a majority of the council. Carriage owners have vowed to fight the ban.
The bill would immediately halt new carriage licences and prohibit the sale of horses to slaughterhouses.
Drivers, who are unionised, are to receive job placement, training, career counselling and financial compensation under a mandated workforce transition programme.
'The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City,' Mayor Mamdani wrote on social media Tuesday night.
