Tourist's death intensifies debate over future of horse-drawn carriages

The death of an 18-year-old tourist following a horse-drawn carriage accident in Central Park has intensified calls from animal welfare advocates to ban the industry. But the union representing carriage drivers says the tragedy underscores the need for stronger safety measures, rather than eliminating hundreds of carriage-driver jobs.

Romanch Mahajan, 18, died after suffering injuries in a June 17 carriage accident in Central Park. According to city officials, a horse bolted from its driver near Cherry Hill, ran down West Drive and collided with another carriage, causing it to turn over.

The fatal crash came just a week after a horse named Deniz collapsed and died while carrying two passengers in the park.

A necropsy conducted by Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine determined that Deniz died after ingesting a poisonous Japanese yew plant in Central Park, finding "abundant" yew material in the horse's stomach and concluding he had consumed an amount "enough to be lethal."

Following the report, Transport Workers Union Local 100 disputed claims by some elected officials and animal-rights advocates that Deniz's death reflected neglect or abuse.

"Deniz's tragic death was not caused by neglect or abuse or the fact he was a carriage horse," TWU Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said, instead blaming the Central Park Conservancy, which the union says planted the toxic shrub in a heavily traveled area of the park.

In response to Mahajan's death, the Central Park Conservancy has urged the City Council to pass Ryder's Law, legislation that would phase out horse-drawn carriages and replace them with electric vehicles while assisting drivers in a job transition.

"We are absolutely devastated to learn that Romanch Mahajan ... has died," a Conservancy spokesperson said. "This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health."

Local 100, which represents about 170 carriage drivers, also expressed condolences while emphasizing that the crash was unprecedented.

"We're absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy. We've never had a fatal accident like this before," Kemp said.

History of incidents

Yet, according to the conservancy and other animal rights organizations, the horse carriage industry has not been immune to incidents. 

The Conservancy said there have been eight horse-related incidents in and around Central Park over the past 13 months, including runaway horses, carriage collisions and the deaths of two horses. The organization argued that if any other activity in the park carried similar risks, it would be shut down if not made safer. 

NYCLASS has also renewed its support for Ryder's Law, with executive director Edita Birnkrant calling Mahajan's death "an entirely preventable tragedy due to political inaction."

Ban Horse Drawn Carriages, another advocacy group backing Ryder's Law, says it has documented 121 carriage-related accidents and 28 work-related horse deaths in New York City since 1982. 

While the organization says the actual number may be higher because accidents are not always required to be reported, its figures equate to about one death every 18 months and roughly three accidents per year over the past 40 years. The group says 41 of those accidents have occurred since 2015.

The advocacy group attributes the documented horse deaths to a range of causes, including collapses while working, heat-related illness, traffic collisions, spooking incidents and illnesses that proved fatal in the stables. 

Among the most prominent cases was Ryder, the 14-year-old horse whose 2022 death in Midtown inspired Ryder's Law. Earlier that year, another carriage horse, Billy, died in his stall during a summer heat wave. 

The group's database also cites Charlie, who collapsed on his way to work in 2011 and was later found to have gastric ulcers, which are caused by excessive stress, and Tickles, an 18-year-old horse euthanized after being discovered in a stall with a fractured leg in 2015.

The database also includes dozens of nonfatal incidents involving horses, drivers and pedestrians. More recent examples include a horse that bolted into parked cars near the West Side Highway in 2023 and a collision between two horse-drawn carriages in Central Park last year that sent both drivers to the hospital.

Union supports alternative legislation

Local 100 disputes the characterization that such incidents demonstrate systemic safety failures, arguing they are rare relative to the industry's decades of operation and millions of carriage rides.

Rather than eliminating the industry, the union is backing Intro. 937, sponsored by Council Member James Gennaro, which would strengthen safety requirements while preserving carriage driver jobs. The proposal would install hitching posts throughout Central Park, expand driver training, adjust summer operating hours to cooler parts of the day and require additional studies of horse welfare and park safety.

Birnkrant, in an email to The Chief, however, challenged the union's portrayal of carriage driving as a well-paying union job, arguing that drivers are typically classified as independent contractors by carriage owners and therefore lack employee benefits, labor protections and union contracts. She accused TWU leadership of representing stable owners' interests rather than those of the drivers.

Following Mahajan's death, City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who had previously expressed some neutrality, announced that the Council will hold a hearing on Ryder's Law in July.

"It is now time to act," Menin said. "We look forward to hearing from all stakeholders and reviewing measures to address horse welfare and public safety concerns as we work toward a thoughtful solution to this urgent issue."