Mamdani accused of betraying NYC workers as union chief blasts 'anti-labor' horse-drawn carriage ban

Zahran Mamdani and the city council plan to ban horse-drawn carriages from Central Park by 2028, but union leaders say the move betrays workers.

The ban on Mamdani horse-drawn carriages provoked a strong union reaction regarding the "anti-labour" crackdown.

Ashley Byrne, director of external communications for PETA, and Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of TWU Local 100, discuss New York City's proposed ban on the iconic Central Park strollers.

New York City lawmakers are set to vote on a bill that would effectively ban all horse-drawn carriages from Central Park — a move that would mean traditions dating back to the late 1800s would be put out to pasture.

The City Council is expected to pass a bill next week that would phase out the rides — a staple of the Big Apple for more than 150 years — by June 1, 2028.

The bill comes after an agreement between Mayor Zahran Mamdani and City Council President Julie Menin and could be the first successful attempt to ban ride-hailing after previous mayors tried unsuccessfully to end the industry.

Mamdani blasts the feds for launching a "campaign of violence and terror" against New York immigrants.

Menin, who was the first City Council speaker to support the legislation, also celebrated the decision.

"We can honor our city's traditions while recognizing when it's time to make progress toward public safety, protecting workers and strengthening our city's economic vitality," Menin said.

"Our government has worked on a detailed plan for the transfer of labor and industry, and we have started discussing compensation for medal holders," said the spokesman of the hall.

For years, animal rights advocates have called for an end to horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, citing high-profile incidents involving allegations of animal cruelty and carriage horse deaths.

Activists have largely denounced the industry as cruel and inhumane, citing incidents in which horses have been spooked by Manhattan traffic and spun into oncoming vehicles or busy sidewalks.

However, pressure to ban the tourist attraction intensified in June.

Fireworks reportedly caused mass horse stampedes through the streets of Rome and injured several soldiers.

New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani smiles as she reacts to reporters after a private meeting with President Donald Trump at the Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, New York, September 21, 2026. (Anthony Bahar/Cipa USA)

On June 17, 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who was traveling with his family from India to celebrate his recent graduation, died after being thrown from a runaway horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.

His death sparked renewed calls for a ban on horse-drawn carriages. Lawmakers renamed the proposal the "Ryder Act" — named after an elderly horse that fell and died on a Manhattan street in 2022 — the "Romance Act."

It's sad and completely inexcusable that the industry insisted on continuing to do this while countless horses and a young human with their whole lives ahead of them died from incidents that should never have happened," Byrne said.

The Central Park Conservancy previously reported that the June 17 accident was the eighth involving a horse in or around the park in about 13 months. Eight days earlier, on June 9, a carriage horse named Denise fell and died while pulling tourists.

The bill's new namesake—and the support it has garnered—infuriated Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of the Transportation Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, which represents roughly 160 horse-drawn carriage drivers in Central Park.

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Emergency responders gather around an overturned horse-drawn carriage in Central Park after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan was injured when his carriage collided with another carriage and overturned. (WNYW)

Kemp argued that the City Council used Mahajan's death to reshape the bill and win over lawmakers after years of unsuccessful efforts to pass the ban.

"And they made laws about it because there was no appetite or evidence to prove that animals were mistreated and it was an animal welfare issue. Now they turned it into a human rights issue. "Now they're making it a safety issue," Kemp said.

Byrne, however, said the issue is rooted in safety concerns, citing increased foot traffic and an increasing number of wheeled vehicles moving through the park.

"Central Park is full of pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, e-bikes and minicabs," Byrne says. "It's no place for game animals like horses that can be spooked by something as small as a plastic bag blowing in the air or a car horn."

Kemp said many of the carriage drivers are immigrants who are nearing retirement age and would find it difficult to find new jobs if the industry shuts down.

"That's what they've done [in their countries]," Kemp said. "And finding their way in America, that was their golden ticket. This street of theirs was paved with gold. "It was an opportunity for them to do what they have in their country to find a way to feed their families here."

Under the law, city agencies have until April 1, 2027, to develop a workforce transition plan for drivers and other industry workers. The plan also requires the authorities to provide compensation to the pram owners. Additionally, carriage owners are not allowed to sell their horses for slaughter or use in other carriage businesses. Animals must be rehomed or otherwise humanely housed.

"I think we have a civic responsibility to make sure we don't dry anybody out," Mamdani said at a press conference Wednesday.

Despite the bill's promises, Camp argued that Mamdani's administration, which campaigned on a pro-worker platform, had failed to protect the livelihoods of carriage drivers.

"If you're going to tell me to my face that you're back on labor and then come in at midnight and you're going to vote to eliminate an entire industry, well, then that's anti-labor. That's not pro-labor," Camp said. "Can we hug? Because we have other things to talk about."

Camp also criticized the mayor's administration for promoting pro-immigration policies and supporting legislation that could eliminate nearly 160 jobs.

"If it's in the way you do business and you see the least of us as the most vulnerable and consumers, then that tells me that you're not rooted in people's politics," Kemp said. "You are rooted in the politics of politics."

"And please forgive us all the alligator tears about how you care about workers and protecting workers and immigrants," he continued. And just say you're more interested in pleasing the people who pay you the most.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the bill on Oct. 22, and supporters expect it to pass.

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