On June 17, an 18-year-old boy died in a fall from a horse carriage in Central Park, just seven days after a 16-year-old carriage horse named Deniz fell to the ground while still harnessed to a carriage carrying two passengers, and died near 72nd Street. A necropsy revealed that Deniz died from eating a Japanese yew — a highly toxic plant for horses. Deniz ingested the plant along the carriage drive near East 90th St.

Thankfully, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who was voted in in January, and Council Member Lynn Schulman, chair of the Committee on Health, immediately issued a statement saying: 

“It is now time to act.” And that a public hearing on Ryder’s Law will take place in July. The legislation, reintroduced by Council Member Christopher Marte, D-Manhattan, last week and named after a horse who collapsed in Hell’s Kitchen in the summer of 2022, would phase out the city’s longstanding and controversial horse carriage industry altogether by June 1, 2028, stopping new licenses from being issued and replacing the carriages with electric alternatives. 

“Today’s tragic death of a teenager following an incident involving a horse carriage in Central Park is horrific and heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones and everyone affected by this devastating loss. The Council recently introduced Ryder’s Law to address longstanding concerns surrounding the horse carriage industry. 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,” said Menin and Schulman.

The carriage horse trade in NYC needs to be abolished, not regulated, to protect horses and humans. Friends of Animals has been advocating to ban the industry for more than four decades. We look forward to the opportunity to speak at the public hearing in July to help get Ryder’s Law signed into law. 

Speaker Menin and City Council have the power to save NYC’s horses from exploitation, misery, and death and get them to accredited sanctuaries, and protect public safety. Look at what San Antonio’s City Council was able to achieve. While we wish the phase-out would be quicker, we applaud San Antonio’s City Council members for approving a plan to phase out horse-drawn carriages from city streets by 2030. 

Until the hearing, our lobbying will focus on members of the Council who are not yet sponsors of Ryder’s Law. What pressure are they getting from constituents not to sign on?

There have now been several horse-related incidents in Central Park over the past 12 months, documented by Central Park Conservancy, which has renewed its call for a carriage horse trade ban. 

• May 19, 2026—A horse is spooked near Seventh Avenue and 59th Street and hit another carriage, causing it to tip over. One driver was taken to a local hospital in a neck brace. 
• January 8, 2026—A horse named Destiny ran into oncoming traffic through the four-way intersection of Sixth Avenue and West 59th Street. Police said four to five cars were hit; the carriage struck a cab with enough force to tear its bumper off, and a Parks Department vehicle suffered damage. 
• September 4, 2025—Two visiting tourists were forced to jump from a speeding horse-drawn carriage after the animal bolted from its two drivers along the East Drive, careening across a landscape and taking out a metal sign before finally coming to rest near Bethesda Terrace. 
• May 26, 2025—Two horse-drawn carriages bolt through Central Park near the 60th Street & East Drive. Both carriage operators sustained injuries while attempting to regain control of the horses. The second driver broke his wrist catching his horse and needed surgery. 
• May 18, 2025—A driver was hurt after two horse-drawn carriages collided in Central Park at the 7th Avenue hack line, causing the carriage to overturn and briefly trapping the driver, who was taken to a hospital by ambulance. 

Following Ryder’s incident in 2022, 71 percent of New Yorkers supported a ban on horse carriage rides. If you are a New Yorker, it’s time to let Speaker Menin know you want her to lead the effort to pass Ryder’s Law! 

You can contact her via Email: SpeakerMenin@council.nyc.gov or by Phone: (212) 788-7210.

Deniz was 16 years old. 

Apparently, the only way NYC carriage horses get to retire from the grueling trade is by collapsing on the street.