New York City votes to end Central Park's horse-drawn carriages by June 2028
A 150-year tourist tradition ends; the open question is what happens to more than 150 drivers and their horses.
The New York City Council on October 22 passed a bill banning horse-drawn carriage rides by June 2028, ending a Central Park tradition of more than 150 years that animal-welfare groups have long opposed, the Associated Press reports (via NBC News). The vote followed the death of a teenage tourist last spring.
The law requires Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office to produce a plan by next April to help the more than 150 remaining drivers find work, including referrals to transit, hospitality and taxi jobs, and lets the city consider compensation. Driver Alexus Lawson asked, "Without a job, how can I take care of my horses?"
Instead of a carriage ride before 2028, consider seeing Central Park on foot or by bike.
Across the spectrum 2
Democrat
Julie Menin, New York City Council Speaker (D): "These workers deserve to be protected," Menin said on the day of the vote, adding that horses no longer have a place among Central Park's pedestrians, cyclists, dog walkers and tourists; her office says the law sets a firm deadline for City Hall to plan for displaced drivers.
NBC News (Associated Press) ↗Republican
President Donald Trump: Trump called carriage rides "a quintessential New York experience" and wrote on social media: "It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that's gone. It will be missed!"
NBC News (Associated Press) ↗