US EditionAs bikes and strollers fill Central Park, its managers want to push horse carriages out
The Central Park Conservancy supports ending horse carriage rides next summer due to safety concerns after recent incidents, with 68 licensed carriage owners currently operating about 200 horses.
- The Conservancy backed a plan to wind down horse‑drawn carriage rides by next summer, citing their outsized impact on safety and infrastructure in an Aug. 12 letter to the City Council.
- Following safety incidents including an Aug. 5 mare death, horses ran loose causing injuries and park users note unpredictability amid crowded paths.
- Under city rules, horses undergo twice-yearly veterinary inspections and face strict work limits, while Manhattan stables house them on upper floors without pasture; owners say, `My horses, I give them a nice life`.
- The human cost is clear: phasing out would affect 68 licensed carriage owners, about 200 horses and 170 drivers, and Mayor Eric Adams' office will seek a `better path forward` with industry reps as City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams remains silent.
- Across North America, Chicago, Montreal, and San Antonio have ended carriage rides, while animal-welfare groups say horse carriages can't operate safely amid Central Park's busy traffic.
26 Articles
26 Articles
Central Park may end use of horse carriages by 2026
NEW YORK — For more than 150 years, horse-drawn carriages have been trotting through Manhattan's Central Park, weathering the arrival of the automobile, years of criticism from animal rights activists and even a mayoral administration that vowed to ban the…
Exclusive | ‘Hypocritical’ NYC pol Erik Bottcher pushing ban on horse carriages once honored ‘king of furs’
Erik Bottcher, a New York City councilman who has been championing legislation to ban horse-drawn carriages in the Big Apple, is being called out as a hypocrite for previously honoring fashion designer Dennis Basso -- known as the "king of fur" and "furrier to the stars."
150-year tradition to end? Central Park horse carriage rides face new controversy
In first, Central Park Conservancy sides with animal rights activists, calling to shut carriage rides, as horses endanger the public and damage park infrastructure; drivers warn move marks end of tourist attraction inseparable from city’s history
Associated Press News
As bikes and strollers fill Central Park, its managers want to push horse carriages out
The nonprofit that manages Central Park has thrown its support behind a proposal to end the horse-drawn carriages that have been fixtures in the greenspace for more than 150 years.
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