Central Park Conservancy officially supports banning carriage horses in NYC

Time Out

3 days ago

After more than a century of clip-clopping through the park's leafy drives, horse-drawn carriages may be trotting toward the sunset—if the people who actually run Central Park have their way.
For the first time, the Central Park Conservancy has taken a public stand on one of New York's most stubbornly contentious issues, urging City Hall to ban carriage horses altogether. The nonprofit, which manages the park's 843 acres, announced Tuesday that it's backing Ryder's Law, a City Council bill that would phase out the industry by next June. Their reasoning? Safety, sanitation and the not-so-small matter of what steel horseshoes and half-ton carriages do to freshly repaved park drives.
'We do not take this position lightly,' wrote Betsy Smith, the Conservancy's president, in a letter to Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. 'Simply put, this practice is no longer compatible with the realities of a modern, heavily used and shared public space.' She pointed to two 'runaway horse' incidents in May, one of which injured a pedicab driver, as proof that the risk can no longer be ignored. There are also complaints of manure left on drives, carriages illegally lining up near Columbus Circle and asphalt showing wear just months after expensive repairs.
The move comes less than a week after a 15-year-old mare named Lady collapsed and died in Hell's Kitchen after giving rides in the park, an incident that reignited calls from animal-rights groups to end what they call an outdated and inhumane trade. Allie Taylor, president of Voters For Animal Rights, told Gothamist that the Conservancy's endorsement 'an important step toward a kinder future for these animals.'
Not everyone is applauding. The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, blasted the Conservancy's leadership as 'corporate aristocrats' willing to 'throw about 200 blue-collar workers…out of work' and accused them of desecrating a piece of Frederick Law Olmsted's original 1850s design. Drivers argue the cited safety incidents are rare, pavement damage is overstated and the real menace in the park is e-bikes and motorized pedicabs zipping past at unsafe speeds.
For now, Ryder's Law has 19 Council sponsors but hasn't had a hearing since it was introduced last year. The mayor's office says it's meeting with both sides to 'keep our parks, animals and all New Yorkers safe.' Whether that means a full ban, stricter rules or just more signage remains to be seen. But one thing's certain: The fight over Central Park's most photographed ride is far from over—and the next chapter could be its last.