Culture

NYC Mayor Backs Carriage Ban After Horse Dies in Park

Are carriages an animal and public safety disaster or a lifeline for horses facing slaughter?

Published JUN 11

NYC Mayor Backs Carriage Ban After Horse Dies in Park

Story

Above: A horse-drawn carriage carries a woman in Central Park, NYC, on Sept. 22, 2025. Image credit: Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Getty Images

The Facts

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed his support for banning horse-drawn carriages from Central Park on Wednesday, a day after a 16-year-old carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died near West 72nd Street and West Drive around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Gothamist
ArcaMax
New York Post
Deniz's driver, Nurettin Kirbiyik, said the horse showed no signs of illness before suddenly collapsing. The union representing carriage drivers said Deniz had passed a physical exam conducted by the NYPD Mounted Unit's veterinarian in March.
ABC7 New York
Gothamist
Under the carriage trade's protocol, Deniz was to be transported to Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine for a full necropsy to determine the cause of death. The average lifespan of a draft horse is about 20 to 25 years.
Gothamist
The New York Times
City Council Member Christopher Marte announced plans to reintroduce Ryder's Law at a Thursday Council meeting. The bill, which would phase out horse-drawn carriages and relocate horses to sanctuaries, previously failed a Health Committee vote in November.
ABC7 New York
NDTV
Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents approximately 200 carriage drivers, has opposed an outright ban while saying it's open to additional regulations. The union maintains that carriage horses are well cared for and describes them as an iconic part of New York culture.
Gothamist
ArcaMax
The Central Park Conservancy, which runs the park, reported seven horse-related incidents in 2025 and has publicly backed Ryder's Law. New York's carriage industry included 68 licensed owners, 183 licensed horses and 231 licensed drivers as of last August.
The New York Times
ABC7 New York

Sources Split

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RIGHT

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The Spin

Narrative A

Deniz's death in Central Park is proof that horse-drawn carriages have no place in a modern city. Horses are prey animals that can spook at any moment, and no regulation fixes that — seven incidents in Central Park this year alone show the industry is a public safety disaster. Ryder's Law is long overdue, and every council member blocking it is choosing industry politics over basic decency.

City & State New York

ABC7 New York

Narrative B

Carriage horses in Central Park are protected by more laws than the drivers who care for them, with capped work hours, mandatory furloughs and regular vet checkups. Many of these horses came from Amish farms where the alternative was auction and slaughter — Central Park gave them a safer, more stable life. Banning the industry doesn't save horses; it eliminates the very jobs and people dedicated to keeping them healthy.