The New York City Council voted Thursday to ban horse-drawn carriages by June 2028, moving to end a nearly 170-year tradition after the death of a teenager in Central Park and prompting threats of legal action from carriage drivers.

The council voted 40-7, with two abstentions, to approve Romanch's Law, named after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan, who died in June after being thrown from a runaway carriage in Central Park.

The legislation would phase out the industry by June 1, 2028, while requiring Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration to develop a transition program for more than 150 active carriage drivers and other workers. 

The plan would include job training, career counseling and employment referrals, although financial compensation is not guaranteed.

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President Donald Trump weighed in on the decision Thursday, criticizing the move to eliminate one of New York City's longtime tourist attractions.

"The Horse-drawn Carriage in New York City is a quintessential New York experience. So sad that, for political reasons, we will see it go!" he wrote on Truth Social.

The Transport Workers Union (TWU), which represents carriage industry workers, threatened to challenge the ban in federal court and seek a temporary restraining order. Union representatives accused City Council Speaker Julie Menin of failing to adequately consult drivers whose livelihoods are at stake.

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Opponents argued the city had failed to establish a concrete financial plan for drivers and carriage owners. An effort to delay the phaseout until January 2030 failed before the final vote.

Menin defended the legislation Thursday, saying the council had strengthened worker protections and was prepared for a legal fight.

"We're very confident in the legislation. That's why we took the time to work over the summer on the legislation," she said at a news conference.

"We made changes to legislation to beef up worker protection. We are very confident in defending this law and will vigorously defend it. I've already talked to Steve Banks about it and our team, and we will vigorously defend this law."

Animal rights group PETA also celebrated the vote, pledging $50,000 to help carriage horses retire as the industry winds down.

The Central Park Conservancy celebrated the decision, arguing that horse-drawn carriages pose growing safety risks in a park that welcomes roughly 40 million visits annually.

MAMDANI, CITY COUNCIL MOVE TO END ICONIC NYC HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE INDUSTRY AS WORKERS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE

"In the modern era, carriages pose a serious — and even fatal — safety risk to park visitors, carriage drivers and the horses themselves. Our hearts break for the family of Romanch Mahajan, who stepped into a carriage earlier this summer and never thought he might lose his life," the organization wrote in a press release.

The Conservancy said Mahajan's death was the ninth carriage-related incident in just over a year.

The legislation also includes protections intended to prevent retired carriage horses from being sold for slaughter, while allowing owners to keep their animals.

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The bill now heads to Mamdani, who has expressed support for ending the industry. If signed, it would bring an end to a decades-long political battle over one of New York City's most recognizable tourist attractions.

EXCLUSIVE: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's proposal to phase out horse-drawn carriage rides after an 18-year-old tourist died in a Central Park carriage accident is expected to face legal challenges.

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told Fox News Digital that Intro 943, also known as Romanch's Law, is "unconstitutional."

"There will be a lawsuit coming up because this is unconstitutional," Paladino said. "Intro 943 is unconstitutional. Lawsuits are going to be filed immediately after this effort is passed. They're going to be tangled up in legalese."

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The New York City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on the proposal, which would phase out the horse-drawn carriage industry by June 1, 2028. The legislation would also establish a transition plan for carriage drivers and require the humane disposition of the horses.

The bill is named after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist who died after jumping from a runaway carriage in Central Park. Mahajan’s mother was also injured in the incident.

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Paladino criticized the proposal, which is supported by animal rights groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She argued that the ban would threaten the livelihoods of carriage operators, many of whom are immigrants and small-business owners.

"Let’s remember that these owners represent a melting pot," Paladino said. "Their livelihood exists in and around the city."

Paladino also warned that eliminating carriage rides could hurt New York City's tourism industry and weaken a historic tradition.

"It’s a tremendous tourist attraction," she said. "People come in from all over the world to take those carriage rides."

MAMDANI, CITY COUNCIL MOVE TO END ICONIC NYC HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE INDUSTRY AS WORKERS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE

The councilwoman also criticized proposed alternatives, including electric bicycles and scooters, arguing that they can pose greater risks to pedestrians.

"These scooters and these motorized bikes that go 20 miles an hour — these scooters that go 30 and 40 miles an hour, zigzagging throughout the park, with no license, no registration and no insurance," Paladino said. "How many people get run over by those people?"

Paladino said the Mamdani administration should focus on regulating e-bikes and scooters instead of eliminating the carriage industry.

"If the Mamdani administration truly cared about public safety, why don’t they get a handle on the scooter and bike industry?" she said.

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The union representing carriage workers has also said it plans to challenge the ban in court if the legislation becomes law.

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Mamdani's office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A progressive congressional candidate backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank on Wednesday morning.

Brad Lander, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), scored an upset primary victory this year against Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. But he was far from the New York City-area district this week, posting on X that he and others were being held by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) while on a trip to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in disputed territory.

"I’ve been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis & volunteers. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nehalim in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn’t a crime under any law I know," Lander posted on X.

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Lander is one of several anti-establishment candidates who Mamdani backed in New York City Democratic primaries this year. And he's not the first to get into a dust-up with law enforcement, either.

Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in their primary race, said she was knocked to the ground by NYPD officers during a protest against federal immigration authorities shooting an illegal immigrant in the Bronx this month.

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Lander is the former New York City comptroller and a former member of the DSA. He left the organization in 2023 in response to a rally members held the day after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas.

The group he was with in the West Bank, Rabbis for Peace, posted a photo of Lander and said he was detained "by Israeli police for standing with Palestinians during the olive harvest" along with others.

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"The Palestinians whose land this is have a right to harvest it in peace," Lander, who is Jewish, said in a video posted by the group.

It's not clear if Lander has been released or what the terms of his detention are. Fox News Digital reached out to his campaign and to Mamdani's office for comment.

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New York's 10th Congressional District is overwhelmingly Democratic, meaning he is all but assured to win his general election and come to Congress next year.

Striking a Make America Safe Again tone, Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman blasted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul as the "most pro-criminal governor" during a Monday campaign event riding the New York City subway system, which has been plagued by violent crimes and commuter safety fears.

"I have not heard from one person, and from all the people, that it's safer on the subways and public transportation in New York," Blakeman said as he rode the subway. "I've heard just the opposite. Everybody says they feel less safe."

"So we want them to feel safe," he said.

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Blakeman, a Nassau County executive, is a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Now running for governor, he was campaigning Monday in the densely populated city, which is overwhelmingly a Democratic stranglehold.

"Hire more police officers, hire more conductors, clean up our subways and get help for those who are emotionally ill – get them help that they need; not have them roam around our subways," Blakeman told reporters as he rode the subway, targeting both the governor and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the deep-blue area.

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"The crime in the subways has gone up tremendously under Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani," Blakeman lamented. "They are not committed to public safety. I will be committed to public safety. I will make sure that our public transportation is safer and cleaner for the traveling public."

"That's how you get more people back in public transportation, not by putting a tax on them with congestion pricing, which is nothing more than a tax on the middle class," he added.

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Blakeman hit Democrats for being negative influences on public safety, and Hochul specifically, for having "reduced the number of conductors on our trains and subways."

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More police patrolling the subways and improving the lighting in dimly lit subway systems are on Blakeman's priority list, but he also discussed having more conductors manning the subways.

Hochul vetoed Albany legislation that would have required conductors on more subway trains, leaving the MTA’s one-person train operation program in place versus the June 2025 state-passed bill requiring at least two-person crews — an operator and conductor.

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Hochul vetoed that bill on Dec. 5, 2025, arguing it would restrict MTA modernization efforts and cost up to $10 million annually.

"Police are very important, but I think people feel very comfortable and very safe when they see a conductor," Blakeman said. "I want to increase the numbers so that people feel safe."

Blakeman called Hochul "the most pro-criminal governor in the United States of America," citing several criminal-justice and immigration policies.

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"Whether it’s cashless bail, Raise the Age, the HALT Act, Clean Slate, or refusing to cooperate with ICE and federal agents, she has made us less safe," he said, striking at Democrat-backed legislation long rebuked by police groups and Republican public safety hawks.

Cashless bail limits when judges can require defendants to put up money to be released. Raise the Age generally keeps 16- and 17-year-olds out of adult criminal court, while the HALT Act limits solitary confinement and changes prison disciplinary practices. The Clean Slate law seals certain criminal convictions from public view after a designated waiting period.

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"People feel less safe in every community that I go to in New York State," Blakeman said.