The Transport Workers Union is preparing to challenge New York City in federal court after the City Council voted to ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park, arguing that the legislation threatens the livelihoods of drivers and carriage owners without guaranteeing reimbursement for carriage medallions or jobs for the drivers.

The Council voted 40-7 on Oct. 22 to pass Romanch’s Law, which would phase out the industry by June 2028.

The legislation, named for 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who died in June after being thrown from a runaway carriage in Central Park, marks a major step toward ending a longstanding political dispute over the carriage industry. Animal welfare advocates have argued that horse-drawn carriages have no place in a crowded urban park, while supporters have defended them as a longstanding New York tradition and a source of income for workers.

The legislation requires the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and other city agencies to develop a workforce transition and economic opportunity plan by April 1, 2027. The plan is expected to include job counseling, training, placement services and referrals to jobs in government, hospitality and tourism.

The law also directs the city to consider compensation for carriage owners, but it does not establish a guaranteed payment program.

In an interview with The Chief after the bill’s passage, TWU international president John Samuelsen stressed that the legislation falls short of providing concrete protections for workers who stand to lose their livelihoods.

“When there's a commitment to protect workers, then you write the commitment concretely into a law,” Samuelsen said. “You don't write supposals into a law.”

The union has said it intends to file a federal lawsuit challenging the law’s validity.

'They are taking my future away'

In a letter sent Oct. 21 to the city's Corporation Counsel Steve Banks, TWU outlined its intention to sue and seek a temporary restraining order. The union argues that the ban raises constitutional concerns, including whether the city would be taking property without compensation from owners who paid substantial sums for their medallions.

Samuelsen said the union expects to prevail in court, though he did not provide a specific timeline for filing the lawsuit.

The city’s Law Department said it was reviewing the union’s letter and stands ready to defend the measure.

“We are reviewing the letter. We are confident the legislation is grounded in the law and will be prepared to defend it,” a spokesperson said.

The industry includes about 150 active licensed drivers, 68 medallions and roughly 160 horses, according to the union. 

Onur Altintas, a 41-year-old carriage driver who owns four horses, told reporters outside City Hall after the City Council vote that he had invested more than $300,000 in his horse carriage business.

“I invest my life to that business, my future,” Altintas said. “Now they are taking my future away. My kids, my family, all my life, depends on it.”

Law lacks guaranteed protections for drivers

The administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has signaled he intends to sign the legislation, said it was exploring ways to compensate drivers.

“We have been working closely with the City Council, union partners, carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates, and community leaders, to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all," Sneha Choudhary, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said in a statement.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin’s office has also said a joint working group to address the transition would include TWU and the Mamdani administration.

But Samuelsen questioned the realization of such a group and if it would offer meaningful protections if they were not written into the legislation.

“If there was a serious intention of a joint council... it would have been written into the law,” he said.

He added that commitments lawmakers have made outside the legislation itself would not provide adequate security for workers, particularly if the city encounters financial difficulties.

“If New York City hits a fiscal cliff next year or they go into a fiscal crisis, anything that's not concretely written into the law is going to go off the table right away,” Samuelsen said.