A horse carriage ban is gaining steam in the City Council following the freak accident that caused the deathof an 18-year-old Indian tourist in Central Park this week.
Some Council members said the tragedy — believed to be the first time in recent memory that a passenger was killed while riding in a horse carriage — might be the proverbial final straw for the beleaguered industry.
“Is it the straw that broke the camel’s back? I think so,” said Councilman Frank Morano, a Staten Island Republican and co-sponsor of “Ryder’s Law,” which would outlaw horse carriages in New York City.
“We have an 18-year-old boy who came here to celebrate his graduation who is leaving in a coffin. It’s totally unacceptable,” Morano told The Post on Thursday.
“The time for treating these accidents as isolated incidents is over,” he said. “It is an industry that no longer makes sense.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he supports outlawing carriage rides in Central Park, a pledge he made on the campaign trail.
“I support removing horse carriages from Central Park,” Mamdani said in January.
Mamdani’s predecessors Eric Adamsand Bill de Blasioalso supported a horse carriage ban, though it never came to pass during their tenures.
Opponents — including the union representing carriage drivers — said they’ve heard the clamor in years past following accidents or deaths involving carriage horses, only to see legislation stall when controversy subsided because the record shows the animals are well treated.
But the new Council has expressed more of an interest in animal rights, recently creating an animal welfare caucus that includes 20 of the legislative body’s 51 members, including Morano.
Council Speaker Julie Menin has ordered a hearing next month on Morano’s bill, named after Ryder, a Central Park carriage horse who tragically collapsed while working on a hot August day in 2022. The bill stalled in committee last year.
“In the past two weeks alone, we have seen the tragic deaths of both a horseand now a teenage carriage passenger, Romanch Mahajan,” Menin said, referring to the June 9 incident in which a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park, likely from consuming a toxic plant.
“These incidents demonstrate that it’s time to chart a better path forward that addresses animal welfare and public safety, and also ensures the livelihood and economic prosperity of the workers,” Menin said.
Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks, a Staten Island Democrat, said, “Something has to change. This tragedy is a call for the City Council to respond. We have to take an honest and sobering look at the horse carriage industry.”
But Queens Democratic Councilman James Gennaro argued the “unthinkable tragedy” was caused by “human error,” which had nothing to do with animal abuse.
He said he opposes an outright ban, and instead is proposing alternative legislation to tighten safety standards, including installing hitching posts in Central Park where horses can be secured when passengers get into or out of the carriages or want to take pictures, as well as more rigorous training for drivers.
But the carriage horse industry is clearly on the defensive.
“We’re absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy. We’ve never had a fatal accident like this before,” said Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president with Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union which advocates for carriage riders.
“We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions of safety protocols and how they can be improved,” said Kemp, who supports Gennaro’s bill, not an outright ban on the carriage industry.
Carriage driver Christina Hansen, a TWU shop steward, accused animal rights activists of “exploiting” and “politicizing” a horrible tragedy, as they have in the past.
“Let’s take a step back and not to rush judgment,” she said.
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