City Hall deal would end Central Park horse carriages after 168 years

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have reached a deal on 'Romanch's Law,' legislation that would ban hansom-cab carriage rides in Central Park and end a 168-year-old industry. The bill, named after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who died in June after being thrown from a horse carriage – the first human fatality in the industry's history – has 30 of 51 council members as co-sponsors and is scheduled for a vote on October 22. Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents carriage drivers, rallied against the measure on October 16. Shop steward Christina Hansen said the bill was 'bad for horses' and did not protect workers; executive vice-president Alexander Kemp challenged supporters to name a single worker protection in the text. Menin's office said the legislation includes a workforce transition program with job referrals, retraining and career fairs, and that Local 100 helped shape the final version. Driver Ahmet Bilici, 23 years in the trade, said he feared losing his business without guaranteed compensation for his medallion.