NYC To Hold Hearing On 'Romanch's Law' To Phase Out Horse-Drawn Carriages

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The New York City Council will hold a public hearing next month on legislation that would phase out the city's horse-drawn carriage industry after an 18-year-old tourist was killed when he was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park earlier this month.

The hearing, scheduled for July 15 at City Hall, will focus on Intro. 943, now known as Romanch's Law, named for Romanch Mahajan, the teen who died in the June 17 crash.

According to previous Patch reporting, the incident happened around 2:47 p.m. near 71st Street and Center Drive when a horse became spooked, causing the carriage to overturn.

Mahajan was thrown from the carriage and taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition. He later died from his injuries.

The crash renewed calls from animal welfare advocates and elected officials to end the city's horse-drawn carriage industry.

"This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health," a spokesperson from the Central Park Conservancy said. "A young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life. That is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America."

The Central Park Conservancy said that this is the eighth horse-related public safety incident in the past year.

Earlier this month, a horse named Deniz collapsed and died while giving two people a ride around 7:30 p.m. on June 9 at West 72nd Street and West Drive. According to a report from the Transit Workers Union, which represents the carriage drivers, the horse had eaten a poisonous shrub and had a medical episode.

This past August, a carriage horse named Lady collapsed and died in Hell's Kitchen, just weeks after a New York jury acquitted carriage horse driver Ian McKeever of animal abuse charges for Ryder, a 30-year-old carriage horse who collapsed while on the job and later had to be put down.

A City Council bill from 2024, named for Ryder, would ban the practice altogether, but it didn't pass.

If approved, Romanch's Law would phase out horse-drawn carriage operations in New York City and provide assistance for workers as they transition to other employment.

New Yorkers interested in testifying at the July 15 hearing can register to speak before the City Council here.

This is a developing story and will be updated. For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.