Ahead of Bill Hearing, Carriage Workers Plead Case to Keep Horses

As activists and horse owners alike prepare for a July 15 City Council hearing, horse carriage workers defend their practice despite receiving backlash over two recent tragic accidents.

The proposed bill (Int 0943), originally titled Ryder’s Law after a horse that collapsed in 2022, was recently renamed Romanch’s Law, after teen Romanch Mahajan died after falling from a carriage June 17. The teen’s death came less than two weeks after a horse collapsed and died after ingesting a toxic Japanese Yew plant in the park. The two incidents together led for a surge of animal rights activists and lawmakers to call for a ban on Central Park carriage horses. Past bills to ban the horses died in committee but this time the City Council set a hearing for July 15 on the issue.

Christina Hansen, a spokesperson for the union and horse carriage owner, said the issue of horse carriages is ideological, with animal rights activists on one side and horse carriage owners—which she refers to as people concerned with animal welfare—on the other.

“See a horse pulling a carriage and to them that’s labor, it’s torture, it’s abuse, exploitation, doesn’t matter how well the horses are taken care of. To them, that’s automatically morally wrong,” Hansen told Straus News. “We’re essentially talking about a moral belief system that, frankly, if you ask me, therefore doesn’t belong in something that should be legislated.”

Hansen said activists were using recent incidents as further momentum for a horse carriage ban.

“The accident where Romanch was killed was tragic to me,” Hansen said. “That has never happened on a visit, and I mean it’s just beyond devastating for everybody.”

“Of course, they want to rename the law after him, and have a vigil, and turn it into a press conference, and try to push the bill,” Hansen said.

New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NYCLASS), a non-profit animal rights organization, said it is necessary to ban horse carriage rides, citing safety and labor concerns.

“The horse carriage industry is outdated, unsafe, and exploitative,” NYCLASS wrote in a report. “Despite overwhelming support for a ban, TWU Local 100 has launched a misinformation campaign to protect wealthy owners—not workers or horses.”

The Transport Workers’ Union Local 100 (TWU), which represents the horse carriage owners, had sued NYCLASS in November 2025, alleging that the organization was more interested in the real estate of the stables than the welfare of the horses.

As part of our interview with Hansen, the horse owner took us on a tour of one of the three stable facilities in Hell’s Kitchen. During the tour, Hansen explained how the stables abide by all regulations, including having stalls large enough for the horses to rotate completely and lie down. Additionally, Hansen noted that the premises had 24/7 staff to care for the horses.

Hansen said the amount of incidents caused by horse carriages are not out of the normal for the transportation and entertainment industries.

“We would like the city council to look on this based on facts and [not] emotions,” Hansen said. “If we banned every industry that had a fatality, we’d tear down Madison Square Garden, this guy just fell over the rail. We’d cut down every tree in Central Park, because of falling trees. We’d ban e-bikes, bicycles, cars, taxis, subway, buses, elevators, escalators.”

Christopher Marte, the District 1 City Council Member who introduced the ban bill June 11, said the newest version of the bill seeks to aid workers in transitioning to new jobs.

“We in the council can’t dictate what the outcome of those jobs will be, but we can force the city to make sure that these workers have everything that they need to transition to really good jobs, so that was the biggest thing we want to highlight with this newer version of the bill,” Marte told Straus News.

Hansen said the job transition aspect to the bill will impact the livelihoods of the 68 carriage owners.

“It’s unconstitutional, these are small businesses, ” Hansen said. “There is nothing in that bill for the carriage people. It says job retraining, what does that even mean in this economy?”

In response to the July 15 hearing, Hansen said she hopes City Council will also consider adding a hearing for an alternative, regulatory bill (Int 937) for the horse carriages. The reform bill, proposed by Queens council member James Gennaro, would instead seek to update regulations and enforcement methods, as well as require additional studies to be completed by the Rental Horse Advisory Board in regards to the conditions of the horses.

Following the June 17 accident, the TWU called for the Central Park Conservancy—a private non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the park — to install hitching posts. CPC, after staying neutral for years, last year urged that horse carriages be banned, a stance that does not sit well with the TWU.

“Our discussions with drivers and carriage owners over the last four days has reinforced our belief that hitching posts should be installed in the park,” Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of TWU, wrote in a June 22 statement. “This is a commonsense safety upgrade that would enable drivers to tether their horses and prevent them from straying.”

“We have suggested hitching posts as a preventative measure for years,” Kemp added.

The Central Park Conservancy said horse carriage rides are one of the biggest dangers in the park, with eight reported horse-related incidents over the past thirteen months.

“We renew our call for New York City to pass Ryder’s Law, which would ban horse carriages and provide transitional job placement services for drivers,” the organization wrote in a June 18 statement. “If any other activity in the Park posed a comparable risk to visitors, it would be suspended immediately while steps were taken to address those dangers.” On the other, CPC critics say that e-bikes and moped that the organization wants to allow into the park, pose greater dangers.

After the incident involving Romanch, the TWU had temporarily paused horse carriage rides for six days, before resuming June 23. On a sunny June 30 day, before the early July heat wave hit, horses could be seen lined up at the bottom of the park, ready for rides.

Scott Dreyer, a grandfather who was visiting NYC from Virginia, said , after taking a carriage ride that the experience was worth the price point, which sits at around $72 for first 20 minutes.

“It’s a special splurge, we’re making family memories and it’s a special experience,” Dreyer told Straus News. “My granddaughter’s just seven and she loves horses. What a great time.”

Harmony Dreyer, Scott’s daughter, said she enjoyed the horse carriage ride, saying “It was fun. Angel was our tour guide and he was great.”

In response to recent controversy, Harmony said she experienced the opposite of the abuse alleged.

“I would say that they seem to take care of the horses pretty well and there’s shade to rest, and that’s a good thing,” Harmony said.

Scott echoed his daughter, saying “It seems to me, they’re generating their business that’s helping them be cared for.”

Marte said the risk of horse carriage rides is not enough to justify the appeal for tourists and New Yorkers.

“I understand the nostalgia and the tradition of it,” Marte said. “There’s no question, it’s been romanticized. I was watching ‘When Harry Met Sally’ this past weekend and there’s people on horse carriages in the backdrop.”

“However, I think think there’s a lot of things, especially New York traditions, that are outdated practices,” Marte added.