The vote is set for 22 October
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced on 14 October 2026 that the full Council votes on Romanch's Law on 22 October. The bill is Int. No. 0943-2026, prime sponsored by Council Member Christopher Marte. Twenty-nine Council members co-sponsor it.
Carriage rides in Central Park remain legal until 31 May 2028. A group that books one before that date gets the ride. Every itinerary from 1 June 2028 needs another way around the park.
What the bill does to carriage licences
The bill prohibits the operation of all carriages from 1 June 2028. It stops the city issuing licences for carriage horses, horse-drawn cabs and carriage drivers on or after that date. Licences valid on the effective date expire on 31 May 2028 and carry no renewal. The bill also repeals the carriage provisions of the administrative code.
Owners must dispose of their animals humanely. The text bars sale or transfer of a carriage horse for slaughter or for use in another horse-drawn cab business.
The law carries a mandatory transition plan. A mayoral agency must publish the plan by 1 April 2027. It covers drivers, owners and stable workers, with job referrals, career counselling, job placement, hiring events, tuition assistance and help finding humane disposition for the horses.
Penalties after the deadline
A driver who keeps operating from 1 June 2028 faces a fine and up to 15 days in jail. A civil penalty runs at least 10,000 US dollars.
The liability sits with the operator. A group that books a carriage for June 2028 holds a contract for a prohibited service.
The trade dates to 1863
Carriage operation in Central Park dates to 1863, five years after the park opened to the public. Downtown Express records that start. The ASPCA was founded in April 1866 with carriage-horse mistreatment among its early concerns. Frank Leslie drew the society's seal, unveiled in 1867, and it shows an angel of mercy protecting a fallen carriage horse. The 1875 bronze medallion shield repeats the image.
Two deaths in 2026 brought the vote
Romanch Mahajan, 18, died in June 2026 after he was thrown from a runaway carriage in Central Park. He was visiting New York from India with his family. The horse, Sampson, bolted, and ABC7 reported that the driver was out of the carriage when the horse took off.
In the same month a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died near East 90th Street after eating a shrub along the curb. Outlets give 9 June and 10 June for the death. Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine performed the necropsy and found a lethal amount of Japanese yew, an ornamental plant that stops a horse's heart. TWU Local 100 released the finding.
Bloomberg Law counts about 68 carriages, roughly 150 drivers and more than 180 horses in the trade.
What changes for a group itinerary
Two dates organise the calendar. Bookings for dates on or before 31 May 2028 sit inside the licensed trade. Dates from 1 June 2028 need a different plan for the park.
Put the licence expiry in the booking file. Ask the operator for the licence number and its expiry date, and keep the written reply with the group contract.
Who backs it
The Central Park Conservancy supports the bill. Its president and chief executive, Betsy Smith, said in the 14 October Council release: "For the Central Park Conservancy, this has always been a matter of public safety. We hope for a safe phaseout over the next 20 months that will protect New Yorkers and ensure no one else ever suffers the fate of Romanch Mahajan."
NYCLASS co-founder Steve Nislick welcomed the vote in the same release. The Transport Workers Union Local 100 represents the drivers, and the Speaker's office has invited the Administration and labor to name one representative each to a joint working group on the transition.
What to tell the group
The vote is 22 October 2026. The licensed trade closes on 1 June 2028 if the bill passes as written. A carriage ride belongs in a 2026 or 2027 itinerary, and a 2028 booking needs a written licence expiry that runs past the trip date.