NEW YORK – New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are closer to striking a deal to ban the horse carriage industry from the city.
Mamdani, Menin close to reaching deal on horse carriages
What they’re saying:
A City Hall spokesperson sent the following statement to FOX 5 NY’s political reporter Morgan McKay:
“We have been working closely with the City Council, union partners, carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates and community leaders to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”
Push to ban horse carriages in the past
The backstory:
The push to ban horse carriages from the city has been building over the past several years, with former Mayor Eric Adams publicly throwing his support behind a potential ban.
One carriage horse collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen in August 2025, though a necropsy performed later on showed that the 15-year-old horse had a small tumor.
Earlier this year, another carriage horse collapsed and died in Central Park, with the cause being ingestion of a toxic shrub.
In that same month, a teenager was killed after falling from a horse-drawn carriage that crashed in Central Park – this crash, in particular, contributed to the reigniting of the debate.
The Source: This article includes reporting from FOX 5 NY’s political reporter Morgan McKay and previous FOX 5 NY reporting.