Central Park Conservancy Calls for Carriage-Horse Ban

In a rather stunning development, the Central Park Conservancy has written a letter to top city officials voicing its support of Ryder’s Law, a City Council bill that would ban the carriage-horse trade in New York City.

It’s the latest twist in a fierce debate over the practice, with animal-rights activists on one side and carriage drivers on the other, sparked by the high-profile deaths of two carriage horses in Manhattan.

The Conservancy’s position is particularly notable given the indelible cultural connection between carriage horses and Central Park. The Conservancy is the nonprofit that helps manage Central Park under a contract with city government, giving the letter, which was addressed to Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and City Council Members Lynn Schulman, Shekar Krishnan, and Gale Brewer, great weight.

“After many years of maintaining a neutral stance, the Central Park Conservancy is writing to formally express its opposition to the continued operation of horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. We do not take this position lightly, but with visitation to the Park growing to record levels, we feel strongly that banning horse carriages has become a matter of public health and safety for Park visitors,” Conservancy CEO Elizabeth W. Smith wrote.

“Horse carriages have been a part of Central Park since its creation in the late 19th century, when horses served as the primary mode of transportation across the City,” the letter continued. “More recently, their presence in the Park—and along its bustling, surrounding streets—has stirred opposition among those concerned with the humane treatment of animals.”

The letter goes on to cite two incidents involving carriage horses in the park, both of which occurred this May. In one, a frightened horse bolted from its owner and “ran uncontrolled along the park’s drives”; in another, two runaway horses slammed into a pair of pedicabs, breaking a cab driver’s wrist.

The Conservancy also said that “new asphalt and striping is already being degraded by the heavy carriages and the horses’ steel horseshoes,” and that “horse manure is left behind daily on the [park’s] drives.”

The letter concludes by imploring the City Council to adopt Ryder’s Law. The bill has been the subject of much heated debate recently, and is named after a horse that collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen back in 2022.

Animal-rights activists were infuriated by footage depicting Ryder’s coach driver, Ian McKeever, whipping the horse; McKeever was charged with animal abuse but was acquitted by a jury this summer, leading to renewed protests and calls to pass the law.

Another horse, Lady, collapsed and died near West 52nd Street’s Clinton Park Stables on Aug. 5. Activists and politicians held a rally at the stables the next day, urging the Council to adopt the law.

Necropsies conducted by veterinarians revealed that both Ryder and Lady were deemed sick at the time of their deaths, in ways that had reportedly gone previously undetected by their owners. For example, an examination has revealed that Lady had died of an undetected tumor that caused “sudden death.”

Utilizing these observations, coach drivers are defending their trade as adequately caring and driven by a love of animals. TWU 100, the union that represents hundreds of coach drivers, has said that it believes those seeking to pass the bill are motivated by animosity for a blue-collar profession.

”The corporate aristocrats at the Central Park Conservancy are now outrageously supporting a measure that would throw about 200 blue-collar workers in the carriage-horse tourism industry out of work, with no regard for how they will pay their rents, mortgages, send their kids to college, put food on the table, or meet other expenses,” TWU 100 said in a statement.

The union called for e-bikes and e-mopeds to be banned from the park instead, calling them “the real threat,” which allies them with a crusade supported by some locals that has itself become a contentious flashpoint.

Janet Schroeder, who runs a group advocating for a e-bike ban in the park–the NYC E-Vehicle Safety Alliance, or NYC-EVSA–told Straus that the carriage trade debate was not “covered by our agenda or our goals.” However, Schroeder did unsurprisingly echo the union in arguing that the Central Park Conservancy should now take a stance against “dangerous heavy e-bikes and e-scooters.”

In July, the Parks Department agreed with transit advocates and announced that e-bikes will be allowed in the park year-round after a two-year pilot, saying that “it’s critically important that our public realm can safely accommodate the diverse ways that New Yorkers get around and enjoy our city’s public spaces.”