A century-old tradition is on the line in New York City, and horse carriage drivers are speaking out about who will ultimately pay the price if Mayor Zohran Mamdani succeeds in ending the iconic industry.Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced Tuesday that they had reached a deal to phase out horse-drawn carriages in the Big Apple, with a vote expected next week on a bill that would ban carriage operations beginning in June 2028.A longtime source of controversy, the horse-drawn carriages lined up at Central Park to take families and tourists for rides are at the center of a public safety debate after 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan was killed from a fall in June.The bill was later renamed "Romanch’s Law."Animal rights activists have targeted the industry, accusing carriage drivers of mistreating horses and even heckling some on the streets over concerns about proper care, food and water.
Viral videos of horses collapsing and escaping into traffic have prompted calls to terminate the industry for good.MAN KILLED AFTER HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE BOLTS AND FLIPS NEAR POPULAR NEW YORK CITY TOURIST DESTINATIONFrank Riccobono, right, spoke to Fox News Digital after Mayor Zohran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin reached a deal to end New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry by June 2028.(Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images ; Frank Riccobono)But Fox News Digital spoke to leaders in the industry who pushed back on the criticisms and argued that the New York City tradition is being unfairly maligned, and that livelihoods will be destroyed thanks to Mamdani's efforts."You have pedicabs flying around, so why are they permitted to have a business?" Frank Riccobono, owner and manager of NYC Horse Carriage Rides, told Fox News Digital.
"And now a 168-year-old tradition, attraction is being forced to surrender, which is very taboo.I want my investment to stay there for the next 20 years, 50 years, 100."Riccobono, who owns 12 horses and three carriages, s...