OAN Staff Lillian Mann
8:01 AM – Friday, October 23, 2026
A Central Park tradition spanning more than 150 years is coming to an abrupt end now that horse-drawn carriages will be banned across New York City.
On Thursday, the ban passed with a veto-proof 40–7 vote and two abstentions, defeating a last-minute attempt to push its rollout back to 2030.
Starting June 1, 2028, horse-drawn carriages will be completely outlawed across all five boroughs. For roughly 200 carriage drivers, that means their livelihoods — and an entire historic industry — will vanish from the city in less than two years, the New York Post reported.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, President Donald Trump said the beloved carriage rides were ending for "political reasons."
"The Horse-drawn Carriage in New York City is a quintessential New York experience. So sad that, for political reasons, we will see it go!"
Trump's announcement follows New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) and Council Speaker Julie Menin reaching an agreement earlier in October to phase out the city's carriage industry, citing safety as their primary motivation.
But carriage workers — many of whom have said their life savings are tied up in their operations — have questioned why Mamdani has targeted them when e-bike delivery drivers and pedicab drivers regularly flout traffic laws and cause dangerous accidents.
"Before you became mayor, you participated in a 15-day hunger strike to support yellow taxi medallion owners facing financial ruin," longtime carriage driver Atakan Aktay said last week, addressing Mamdani. "Now you are mayor, and we face the prospect of losing our businesses without guaranteed compensation."
"Where is that same compassion for us? How can you fight for one group of medallion owners while allowing another group to face financial devastation? To us, that feels hypocritical and humiliating," Aktay added.
Carriage industry workers swiftly pushed back, pledging to sue over the ban. Their lawsuit focuses on the bill's complete lack of financial compensation, offering only vague promises of job training for "new economic opportunities."
"This bill is a train wreck of constitutional and due process violations," Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen said in a statement.
"It offers nothing concrete for blue-collar drivers and carriage owners who will be financially crushed, stripped of their jobs, their licenses, expensive city-issued medallions, small businesses, and way of life," he added.
Nonetheless, the tradition has drawn growing scrutiny over animal welfare concerns, particularly following reports of horses collapsing during long hours in sweltering heat.
The outcry reached a breaking point this summer after 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan was tragically killed when his family's carriage horse bolted. His death marked what is believed to be the first human fatality in the industry's century-and-a-half history.
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