NEW YORK — The NYC City Council voted Thursday to ban Central Park’s storied horse-drawn carriages, a NYC tradition cherished by many but under increasing fire over the last several months over issues ranging from the safety of passengers and pedestrians to the well-being of the horses.

The vote to ban, which was expected, is likely to trigger an immediate court challenge from The Transport Workers Union, which represents the industry’s medallion owners and drivers. The union said earlier Thursday it planned to challenge the constitutionality of the law “the minute the ink dries.”

The council voted in favor of the bill banning Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages 40-7 Thursday afternoon, officials said. Two councilmembers abstained.

Both Council speaker Julie Menin and Mayor Zohran Mamdani support the measure, which passed with a veto-proof majority.

“Passing this law proves not simply that we are committed to making our city safer and more livable for residents, tourists and animals alike — it proves that we can live up to the commitments that we make,” Menin said ahead of the vote.

The council bill, known as Romanch’s Law, is named for the 18-year-old boy who was killed jumping from a runaway horse-drawn carriage in June, a tragedy that significantly upped the pressure to ban carriage rides.

The law puts a stop to the issuance of new carriage-horse licenses and outlaws the industry entirely by the summer of 2028. The bill also requires that should carriage owners sell their horses, they cannot sell them to another carriage industry or to be slaughtered.

The council’s actions have left drivers angry and frustrated.

A massive hole in the bill, many of those who work in the industry argue, is the lack of any clear compensation for those who have invested millions in medallions, horses and carriages to support an industry the city authorized and long regulated. The bill nods at the issue, but there are no firm dollars set aside for those whose investments are now virtually worthless.

The full council vote follow’s this morning’s 6-3 nod by the council’s health committee.

Council member Joann Ariola, R-Queens, who up until Wednesday had been a cosponsor of the bill, voted no during the committee vote, citing concerns over whether the city could sufficiently transition carriage horse workers into new jobs.

“This is how we feed our families,” Frank Riccobono, an owner and driver with 20 years in the business, told the News. “And now we’re going to be in a big financial crisis and there’s no language promising any figure like a buy-back program or an alternative business.”

“It’s like my American dream was happening, and now the Americans are shattering my American dream,” he said. “We’re very scared. I haven’t slept. I don’t want to wake up in the morning. I’m depressed.”

President Trump weighed in on the ban, saying it was “so sad” that the “quintessential New York experience” was on its way out.

“So sad to see the beloved Central Park Horse-drawn Carriage Industry ending after over a Century, based largely on one tragic accident,” he posted on Truth Social. ”When there is a car accident in the area, of which there are many, they don’t stop cars from entering the Park. So why would they stop the Carriages? It was a Great Tradition. Another piece of History that’s gone. It will be missed!”

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