New York City bans Central Park horse carriages after 150 years

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Central Park’s horse-drawn carriage drivers fear for their future as New York City passes a ban – WTOP News wtop.com

The New York City Council has banned horse-drawn carriage rides, ending a trade that has operated in Central Park for over 150 years. The bill passed Thursday and gives the industry until June 2028 to wind down; Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to sign it. The legislation orders City Hall to produce a transition plan by April for the more than 150 remaining drivers, including job referrals, career counseling, and educational opportunities, with the administration permitted to consider some form of compensation for displaced workers. A mayoral spokesperson said the office has already begun work on the program. The drivers' response has been practical rather than sentimental. Alexus Lawson, 28, grew up around horses and worked as a riding instructor before driving carriages. Medet Fidan, 56, moved into the trade from taxi driving after ride-hailing apps gutted the medallion business — a reminder that this is the second consecutive livelihood the city's changing rules have taken from him. The drivers' union has vowed an immediate legal challenge. Two of Mamdani's predecessors tried and failed to end the rides. Bill de Blasio campaigned on abolishing them on day one of his administration and retreated after union backlash and a media campaign featuring Liam Neeson. Eric Adams proposed a ban late in his term; it never advanced. Council Speaker Julie Menin, who spearheaded the current bill, argues the horses no longer have a place among the park's pedestrians, cyclists and tourists. The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that operates the park, supported the ban on safety grounds. The latest push began in June after the death of an 18-year-old Indian tourist. President Donald Trump, whose Trump Tower sits near the park, criticized the ban as the end of a "quintessential New York experience" — a position that costs him nothing and polls well with exactly the voters he already has. The drivers' question is less rhetorical: if the welfare of the horses was the genuine concern, the trade could have been regulated — stable inspections, workload limits, retirement rules. Instead it received a phase-out date and a job-referral program. Fidan has been through a city-ordered career transition before. This time he says he fears losing his business and livelihood. The horses, presumably, will be rehomed.