NEW YORK – After petting a carriage horse in New York’s Central Park at the age of five, Alexus Lawson was hooked. She has driven a carriage in Manhattan’s most famous park, pulled by her horses, for six years. But since Lawson heard about the city’s vote this week to outlaw the carriages over animal and public-safety concerns, she has been worried. “What am I supposed to do with my horse?” asked the 28-year-old about her current horse, Starlight. “You’re going to tell me I can’t work with her anymore? How am I supposed to ensure her health?” Lawson is one of roughly 200 horse-drawn carriage drivers in Central Park. Use of the carriages has been an at-times controversial tradition for over 160 years that has become a popular tourist activity.  On Thursday, New York City Council is expected to pass a ban on the carriages that would start in June 2028. The proposal is backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who says he will help develop a transition plan for workers in the industry.  But several drivers who spoke to the BBC said they did not want new jobs, and disputed claims their horses are mistreated – even as many New Yorkers and tourists welcomed the ban. “There were a few cases of horses dying in the middle of the park. You can clearly see that they’re not taken care of,” said New York resident Ron Tsur. “That’s not what they’re supposed to be doing.” Since 1982, 40 horses working in Central Park have died, according to the Manhattan Borough President’s office, which blames issues including overheating and collisions. New York leaders previously sought a ban, under pressure from animal-rights activists, but faced pushback from city council members and unions representing the workers.
But the ban movement found new momentum this summer.
In June, Romanch Mahajan, a tourist visiting New York with his family from India, was in a carriage when the horse bolted, causing the 18-year-old to fall out and die. The planned ban – named Romanch’s Law after the teen – also follows the death this year of a carriage horse, Deniz, who ate a toxic plant in Central Park.
‘Horses are working animals’
Several Central Park horse carriage drivers who spoke to the BBC said they were devoted to their horses and that the rides did not pose a safety risk.
Lawson, who was nearby on the day Mahajan fell to his death, called the deadly incident “extremely tragic”. But she said if the city was really worried about the safety of the horse-drawn carriages, it would outlaw them immediately – not in two years.
The Central Park Conservancy, the non-profit organisation that manages Central Park and supports the carriage ban, said that over the past 13 months alone, there had been seven “horse-related incidents”. In May, a driver was taken to the hospital after a spooked horse hit another carriage, causing it to tip over. In January, another horse, named Destiny, ran into traffic near the park, causing a multi-car collision.

Lawson, who owns six horses, pointed out that New York City carriages were the most regulated in the country and said horses enjoyed the stimulation.
“They look at an animal in harness and they see a trap,” Lawson said of officials pushing for the ban. “They see a job as something that’s terrible. Horses are working animals.”

Medet Fidan, a carriage driver for 12 years, feels similarly attached to his horse, calling allegations of mistreatment a joke.
“I spend more time with my horses than my wife and my kids,” he said. “They’re telling me I’m abusing my horse? No way.”
Fidan said he was angry, and that officials were passing a ban without talking in-person to drivers and others in the industry. “If you don’t listen to me, how can you come and kill my business, destroy my family’s, my livelihood?” he asked.
The city council held a hearing in July, inviting community members, including horse-carriage drivers, to comment.
The legislation to end horse-drawn carriages proposes an “industry transition framework” including potential job placement, training, career counselling, and financial compensation for those in the business.

A spokesperson for Mamdani said his office was involved in planning to find new jobs for these workers – who make around $60,000 (£ 44,000) to $70,000 a year, according to drivers who spoke at the city council hearing.
But the Transport Workers Union, which represents the drivers, said the plan did not include guarantees – including compensation – and that the workers would be “economically wiped out”.
The union also raised concerns about a lack of funding for individuals and organisations who eventually take in the horses. It argued that thousands end up at slaughter auctions each year.
The bill forbids selling horses for slaughter or for similar work.