The iconic but controversial horse-drawn carriages in New York City might finally halt as Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached a deal Tuesday to outlaw them.

If enacted, the proposed bill would ban rides for hire starting June 1, 2028. 

Other mayors have contributed to this effort, but none facilitated a full ban. Mamdani could be the first to achieve the full support of City Council to effectively ban horse-drawn carriages.  

When a horse collapsed from exhaustion in 2011, then-mayor Mike Bloomberg dismissed a call to ban the industry, citing the importance of maintaining a livelihood of New York City’s carriage drivers.

In 2013, former mayor Bill de Blasio was the first mayor to announce plans for a full ban. Without support from City Council, however, the effort proved fruitless.

Just months before the end of his mayorship, de Blasio’s successor, Eric Adams, attempted to end horse-drawn carriages, which also lost to little support from the council. 

An 18-year-old tourist from India, Romanch Mahajan, died after falling from a carriage in July, which prompted “Romanch’s Law.”

The legislation will phase-out the carriages, while also providing a plan for protection of the workers whose livelihoods rely on the popular tourist activity. This time around, council members are expected to support the act, after Menin publicly endorsed the law in July.

“The horse carriage industry is coming to an end in New York City. Our administration will make sure workers and owners are protected and the horses are safe,” Mamdani said in a statement on X on Tuesday.

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