{"id":876976,"date":"2026-06-18T23:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/876976\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T23:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:46:20","slug":"new-york-leaders-push-to-ban-horse-carriage-industry-after-indian-teens-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/876976\/","title":{"rendered":"New York leaders push to ban horse carriage industry after Indian teen’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The death of a young tourist who jumped from a runaway horse carriage<\/a> in Central Park has intensified calls to ban the old-time attraction from one of New York City\u2019s most recognizable destinations. <\/p>\n

Romanch Mahajan, 18, died after he got off of the four-wheeled carriage as its horse sprinted through the park<\/a> without the driver.<\/p>\n

He is believed to be the first person to die in a horse carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago, according to the labor union representing the industry and the Central Park Conservancy, which manages the 843-acre (341-hectare) park.<\/p>\n

The conservancy was among those arguing Thursday that the carriage industry should be suspended until more protections can be put in place. Mahajan\u2019s death was the eighth horse-related incident in the park over the past 13 months, the group said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe record is undeniable: crashes, runaways, horse deaths, injuries, and now a devastating loss of human life,\u201d said Edita Birnkrant, head of the animal welfare group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets.<\/p>\n

Animal rights activists have long claimed the carriage horses are overworked, can get easily spooked on city streets and live in inadequate stables while their drivers regularly flaunt city rules. All of those allegations have been denied by the horse and carriage owners, who say the animals are well cared for and the stables are fine.<\/p>\n

The conservancy has argued that horses can no longer safely share park roads teeming with joggers, cyclists, pedestrians and motorized scooters, noting that other U.S. cities, including Chicago and San Antonio, have also recently done away with the nostalgic rides.<\/p>\n

But carriage industry leaders said the fatal crash underscores the need for better protections, not outright elimination of the quaint attraction that harkens back to a romanticized, bygone New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy,\u201d said Alexander Kemp, a vice president with the Transport Workers Union Local 100, the labor union representing carriage drivers and owners. \u201cWe have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions of safety protocols and how they can be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Horse carriages weren\u2019t running Thursday and it was not immediately clear when the rides, which cost about $72 for the first 20 minutes, would resume. <\/p>\n

The owner of the carriage involved in the fatal crash also suspended the driver indefinitely, and has plans to retire the horse from the business, according to the union. It said the driver improperly dismounted to take a photograph of his passengers.<\/p>\n

Celebrating a high school graduation turned tragic<\/p>\n

Mahajan had been on a family trip celebrating his recent high school graduation when the family decided to take a ride on one of the park\u2019s often photographed, richly decorated carriages.<\/p>\n

His father, Deepak Mahajan, told<\/a> The New York Times the family had arrived from India on Monday, the same day Romanch learned he had been accepted to a university in Jaipur.<\/p>\n

They had spent the trip visiting many of the city\u2019s popular tourist attractions, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. <\/p>\n

The carriage driver hopped off to take a photograph of the family near a fountain when the horse suddenly bolted, Mahajan said.<\/p>\n

Romanch\u2019s mother fell out of the carriage, and the teen jumped out in an attempt to save her, according to his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was screaming, \u2018Mom!\u2019\u201d Deepak Mahajan recounted to the Times. <\/p>\n

But Romanch hit his head on the ground before the carriage clipped another horse-drawn vehicle and eventually toppled over<\/a>. The father, his wife and younger son escaped with minor injuries. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis incident should be taken very seriously,\u201d Mahajan said. \u201cIt took my son\u2019s dream away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carriage owners and drivers fear end to livelihood<\/p>\n

New York City leaders vowed to work swiftly to end the industry in the wake of Romanch\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the legislative body would hold a hearing next month on a long-simmering bill that would ban horse carriages and help drivers transition into new jobs.<\/p>\n

Last year, the park conservancy revived debate<\/a> over the carriages when, for the first time, it threw its support behind what\u2019s known as Ryder\u2019s Law<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe time to act is now,\u201d she wrote on the social platform X.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani also reiterated his support for ending the industry, saying he\u2019d work with the council, the industry and animal welfare advocates to \u201cdeliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other recent mayors have made similar pronouncements. Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed to shut down<\/a> the industry \u201con Day One\u201d in office, only to come up against years of council opposition<\/a>. Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani\u2019s predecessor, came out against the industry near the end<\/a> of his single term. <\/p>\n

Onur Altintas, who owns four horses and a carriage operating in Central Park, was among those worried about an end to their livelihood. He said the industry provides hundreds of jobs to drivers, stable hands, farriers, and others in horse-related trades.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sad about what happened. Nobody wants that. But it\u2019s not like this is happening every day,\u201d said Altintas. \u201cCar crashes and plane crashes are happening every single day. One horse makes an accident, and the world is destroyed? Come on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The longtime owner and driver said the industry needs better regulations to make it safer. He said \u201c90%\u201d of horse-related accidents could be avoided simply by installing hitching posts throughout the park so drivers could safely tether and secure their horses, including at popular tourist photo stops.<\/p>\n

The Transport Workers Union on Thursday said legislation recently introduced<\/a> into the council would do just that.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrivers can\u2019t leave their carriage. They have to be on it all the time,\u201d Altintas said. \u201cBut it\u2019s impossible. We have to go to the restroom. We have to eat. We have to do things.\u201d<\/p>\n

____<\/p>\n

Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The death of a young tourist who jumped from a runaway horse carriage in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":876977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[356187,5229,42339,21481,64,56201,5289,57,1819,1818,175377,24963,1165,8132,29480,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,356407,3981,358,5028,61,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,5301],"class_list":["post-876976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-alexander-kemp","tag-america","tag-animal-rights","tag-bill-de-blasio","tag-business","tag-edita-birnkrant","tag-eric-adams","tag-general-news","tag-il-state-wire","tag-illinois","tag-julie-menin","tag-labor-unions","tag-lifestyle","tag-military-and-defense","tag-national-parks","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-onur-altintas","tag-teens","tag-texas","tag-tx-state-wire","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116773780821904014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}