New York City streets kill horses.
The latest victim—a 16-year-old carriage horse named Deniz, who fell to the ground while still harnessed to a carriage carrying two passengers, died Tuesday night near 72nd Street. The incident comes after a carriage horse fell over last month. It also followed a separate incident in January, when a horse bolted into oncoming traffic on Sixth Avenue just south of the park. New York’s City Council passes laws, which is the remedy, not the Mayor of New York who implements laws.
The media is reporting on the Mayor’s reactions, which are not relevant, and which have reignited debate over New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry.
The carriage horse trade in NYC needs to be abolished, not regulated. Friends of Animals has been advocating to ban the industry for more than four decades.
A glimmer of hope in 2026 is that a new City Council speaker was voted in in January—Julie Menin. And Council Member Christopher Marte, D-Manhattan, announced earlier this week that he would be moving to reintroduce Ryder’s Law at today’s Council meeting.
The legislation, 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 stopping new licenses from being issued and replacing the carriages with electric alternatives.
Speaker Menin and City Council have the power to save NYC’s horses from exploitation, misery, and death and get them to accredited sanctuaries. 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.
Our lobbying will focus on Speaker Menin, New York City Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, and the full 51 members of the Council representing various districts. What pressure are they getting from constituents?
Following Ryder’s incident, 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 vote for 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.
Here are just some of the other troubling incidents that underscore the need to end the carriage horse trade in New York City:
•In August 2022, Ryder collapsed at the intersection of West 45th Street and 9th Avenue. The New York City Police Department intervened to help Ryder get back on his feet, and Ryder later died that October.
•In response, advocates asked the City Council to pass Ryder’s Law, legislation to phase out horse-drawn carriages and replace them with electric alternatives
•In August 2025, another carriage horse named Lady collapsed and died at West 51st Street and 11th Avenue, bringing proposals for reform or closure of the carriage industry back into the spotlight.
• In September 2025 carriage horse Bambi took off running in Central Park. Bambi ran out with no person at the reins, frightening visitors and causing three horse carriage passengers to jump out of the speeding buggy. Earlier this year, in May, a similar incident occurred when a pair of runaway carriage horses broke a driver’s wrist and injured others in Central Park after they bolted.