Gothamist77%
Teen's death in Central Park horse carriage fall has lawmakers pushing to ban industry 55%
By Liam Quigley0%
6/18/2026, 12:42:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 28 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Framing Effect, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 25.6% saturation with 182 hits. Analysis detected 1,448 faulty-reasoning hits from 712 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 52.8% and a BS Rank of 55% (9,935 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 54.60% of the article peer group.
The death of a teenage tourist who fell out of a runaway horse carriage in Central Park on Wednesday may spell the end of the industry altogether, according to several city lawmakers.
Citing the tragedy, City Council Speaker Julie Menin on Thursday announced plans to hold a hearing on legislation to ban the iconic carriages from the park.
Animal rights groups have for years pressured city officials to outlaw the carriages, claiming the horses are mistreated.
The buggy owners and operators, who are represented by the powerful Transport Workers Union, have defied calls for their exile.
But the political landscape immediately shifted after Wednesday’s incident.
The carriage drivers were already in the hot seat after a horse collapsed and died in Central Park a week earlier, which an examination determined was caused by a toxic shrub it had eaten.
Menin issued a joint statement with Councilmember Lynn Schulman that set the stage for the passage of Ryder’s Law, a proposed bill that would ban horse carriages from the park.
The legislation is named after a horse that collapsed on a Midtown street in August 2022 and was euthanized two months later.
“It is now time to act.
The Council recently introduced Ryder’s Law to address long-standing concerns surrounding the horse carriage industry, and we will hold a hearing on the bill in July,” the statement 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.”
Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen said the carriages would cease operations for a “couple days” out of respect for Mahajan’s family and to review the industry's operation.
He also said “the enemies of the carriage industry have grabbed ahold of this tragedy” to try to end the industry.
The NYPD said the victim, 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, was visiting the city from India with his family.
They were in a carriage near Tavern on the Green about 2:45 p.m. when the horse broke away from its driver, causing Mahajan to be thrown from the cab.
He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where died from his injuries.
The horse was uninjured, and police were investigating the circumstance surrounding the crash, part of which was captured on video showing the horse bolting from its owner while the carriage bounced wildly behind.
The Central Park Conservancy said Mahajan was the first tourist to die from a horse carriage incident in at least a century.
Last year, the group for the first time in its history called for the industry to be banned from the park.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office did not respond to questions about the future of the carriages.
He has previously expressed support for banning them, but has also said he wants to ensure the drivers keep their jobs.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to ban the carriages from the park during his winning 2013 campaign.
But after eight years in office, he failed to do so, which enraged New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, the city’s preeminent anti-horse carriage group.
“We are grateful to Speaker Julie Menin for her leadership in scheduling a hearing for Ryder’s in July.
But the public cannot wait while more lives remain at risk.”
Edita Birnkrant, the executive director of the group, wrote in a statement Thursday.
Councilmember Chi Ossé said Mahajan's death “speaks to how much this law needs to get past the finish line.”
Samuelsen remained defiant, and said he would continue to pressure lawmakers to preserve the horse carriage operations in the park.
“The efforts to end the horse and carriage industry are supposedly predicated upon the horses being mistreated and this tragedy has nothing to do with that,” he said.
Animal rights activists are demanding that Mamdani move quickly and take executive action rather than waiting for the city council to pass a law banning the industry.
“ The enemies of the carriage industry have grabbed ahold of this tragedy, and they are trying to use it to advance the end of the horse and carriage industry,” he said.
<i>Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting to this story.</i>
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100%flagged-word coverageTransport Workers Union
20 attributed words5.3% of attributed speech89% writer coverage
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