Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced Tuesday a deal to phase out New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry entirely, with a City Council vote expected next week on legislation that would end carriage operations by June 2028.
The bill, dubbed “Romanch’s Law,” follows the June death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who was killed after falling from a carriage. The horse-drawn carriages that line up near Central Park have long drawn criticism from animal rights activists, who point to viral videos of horses collapsing or bolting into traffic as evidence the industry mistreats its animals.
But the roughly 200 people who work in the trade say the public debate has ignored the human cost of shutting it down, and that the city has not given them a clear picture of what happens next.
A Century of Livelihood at Stake
Frank Riccobono, owner and manager of NYC Horse Carriage Rides, owns 12 horses and three carriages. He has spent more than two decades in the business, a career he took up after his father spent 47 years driving carriages.
“You have pedicabs flying around, so why are they permitted to have a business?” Riccobono told Fox News Digital. “And now a 168-year-old tradition, attraction is being forced to surrender, which is very taboo. I want my investment to stay there for the next 20 years, 50 years, 100.”
Under the bill, owners would not be forced to give up their horses — they could keep, sell or transfer them, provided the animals are not sent to slaughter, another carriage operation, or what the legislation calls “inhumane purposes.” But Riccobono would be barred from using his horses for carriage rides within the city, and he says he stands to lose roughly $400,000 he paid for a medallion — the license required to operate — with no reimbursement built into the bill.
“I am going to take a very, very big loss here and there’s no reimbursement in this bill,” he said.
Riccobono rejected claims that his animals are mistreated, saying they receive regular veterinary care and calling the criticism “brainwashing.”
“That’s what this bill shows. It shows they’re trying to criminalize us because a horse is working.”
His wife, Natalie Riccobono, said the loss of income would hit the family hard. “By taking away these businesses from us, they are literally taking food off of our table and possibly a shelter from over our heads,” she said. Riccobono added that colleagues in the industry, including his own father, rely on their medallions for income and retirement amid serious health conditions, including one colleague on dialysis.
Drivers Say They’ve Been Shut Out
Christina Hansen, a veteran carriage driver and shop steward with Transport Workers Union Local 100, said drivers have not heard directly from Mamdani about the plan.
“The only cruelty in the New York City carriage industry has always been the way that the people in it, the way the carriage drivers and carriage owners and stable owners are treated.”
Hansen said she has invited Mamdani to meet with drivers or visit the horses, but doubts he will take her up on it. “He hasn’t and he probably won’t, because he’d get so much blowback on social media or whatever,” she said.
Mamdani, addressing reporters Wednesday, said the city has an obligation to the displaced workers. “I think that we have a civic responsibility to ensure that we are not leaving anybody out to dry,” he said. “They should not be ones that are simply left as an afterthought of what comes after this.”
A spokesperson for Menin said the speaker will stay involved in the transition process, which “must include meaningful protections for the workers,” and said she has invited the union and the mayor’s administration to join a new working group. “Through thoughtful conversations with labor and other stakeholders, the Council developed a framework to ensure better economic opportunities for these New Yorkers,” the spokesperson said.
What Happens to the Horses?
City officials have suggested the horses could go to rescues or sanctuaries once the industry winds down. Hansen warned those facilities are already strained by declining donations and limited resources, and said there is no city funding earmarked for the horses’ long-term care.
“There’s no funding from the city or anything like that to say, we’re going to make sure that, you know, the city pays for the horse’s retirement.”
This is not the first attempt to end the trade. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed to ban horse-drawn carriages after taking office in 2014, proposing vintage-style electric cars as a replacement, but that effort — like earlier ones — failed to advance.
Riccobono said he intends to keep fighting what he called an “unconstitutional” bill. “We’re gonna fight for our rights, number one, we’re gonna fight for our horses, and we’re gonna fight for fairness and justice,” he said.
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Mamdani’s office for additional comment.
Add comment