New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have reached a deal to phase out horse-drawn carriages in the city, with a vote expected next week on a bill that would ban carriage operations beginning in June 2028. The announcement marks a major step toward ending a 168-year-old tradition that has become a fixture of Central Park tourism but also a target of animal rights campaigns and public safety concerns.
The legislation was renamed «Romanch’s Law» after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who was killed in June when he fell from a horse-drawn carriage. The incident intensified scrutiny of an industry that has long drawn controversy, with viral videos of horses collapsing or escaping into traffic fueling calls for its elimination. Animal rights activists have accused carriage drivers of mistreating horses and have heckled some operators on the streets over concerns about proper care, food and water.
But carriage drivers and industry leaders argue the criticisms are unfair and that the ban will destroy livelihoods and a family legacy. Frank Riccobono, owner and manager of NYC Horse Carriage Rides, told Fox News Digital that he owns 12 horses and three carriages and purchased a medallion — the license required to legally operate — for nearly $400,000. He said the bill offers no reimbursement for that investment. «I am going to take a very, very big loss here and there’s no reimbursement in this bill,» Riccobono said.
Riccobono, who has spent more than two decades driving carriages after following his father into the business, said raising horses is like raising a child and that «non-horse people» will never understand that bond. He called the criticism «brainwashing» and said his horses receive «the most perfect lifestyle» and regularly see certified veterinarians. The bill would not take the horses away from their owners; they could keep, sell or transfer them as long as the animals are not sent to slaughter, another carriage business or «inhumane purposes.»
His wife, Natalie, said the loss of income would be devastating for the family. «By taking away these businesses from us, they are literally taking food off of our table and possibly a shelter from over our heads,» she said. Riccobono added that his father has medical conditions and that colleagues are on dialysis, relying on their medallions for income and retirement.
Mamdani and Menin have vowed to help the city’s roughly 200 carriage drivers transition into new jobs. «I think that we have a civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry,» Mamdani told reporters. «They should not be ones that are simply left as an afterthought of what comes after this.»
Christina Hansen, a veteran carriage driver and Transport Workers Union Local 100 shop steward, said drivers have yet to hear directly from the mayor and are being treated «as if we don’t matter, as if we don’t count.» She said the only cruelty in the industry has been the way its workers and owners are treated. A spokesperson for Menin said the speaker will remain involved in a transition that «must include meaningful protections for the workers» and has invited the union and the administration to join a new working group.
Hansen also warned that the rescues and sanctuaries expected to take the horses are already struggling with declining donations and limited resources. She worries the horses could be left behind once national attention fades, noting there is no city funding to pay for their retirement. The bill’s passage next week would set the industry on a path to closure in June 2028, leaving drivers to navigate an uncertain future.