Overview
- An 18-year-old tourist, identified as Romanch Mahajan, was thrown from a carriage after a horse bolted and the vehicle overturned; he was taken to Weill Cornell and later died from his injuries.
- The NYPD has an active investigation into the June 17 incident and the carriage owner has suspended the driver indefinitely while the horse involved was taken out of service, union officials said.
- TWU Local 100 publicized a Cornell necropsy that found a different carriage horse, Deniz, ingested toxic Japanese yew on June 9, a finding the union cites as evidence of park vegetation risks.
- The Central Park Conservancy disputes the union’s characterization of Deniz’s death and points to rules that require drivers to attend horses and prevent them from eating park plants.
- A cluster of seven to eight horse-related incidents over the past 13 months has accelerated calls from city leaders and animal advocates to pass Ryder’s Law and prompted City Council and mayoral moves to weigh a phaseout or tighter regulation.