Kelly Keegs celebrates NYC horse carriage ban passing

Keegs spent Thursday afternoon refreshing for news from City Hall, and before the vote she posted footage from the rally outside.

Kelly Keegs

@kellykeegs

Waiting patiently to hear!!!!!!!!! Vote should be going on right now!!!

NYCLASS

@nyclass

“Today we are FINALLY doing it” - @SpeakerMenin

The signs are the backstory. The bill is named for Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old from India who was visiting New York to celebrate his high school graduation. He was thrown from a carriage in Central Park in June and died. Council Member Christopher Marte sponsored the bill after his death, and Speaker Julie Menin put it up for a vote. That explains the 'It Takes a Strong Woman' sign in the crowd.

It passed 40-7, which is a veto-proof majority. Menin called it a landmark vote for 'animal welfare, public safety, and worker protection.' She also said the horses don't belong in a place that draws 42 million people a year while 'pulling a 1,000-pound carriage in record heat.' About 3 hours after her 'waiting patiently' post, Keegs got the news she wanted.

Kelly Keegs

@kellykeegs

ITS OFFICIAL!!!!!!! THE HORSES ARE FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE IT!!!!

NYCLASS

@nyclass

WE DID IT! We will have more to say, and many more to thank. But right now we will just say THANK YOU @speakermenin @nycmayor  @chrismartenyc and all the many passionate advocates and supporters  of the successful effort today to pass Romanch’s Law to BAN Deadly Horse Carriages in NYC! History was made today! The next step is transitioning the horses to loving rescue farms. Stay tuned for more details to come.

To be clear, the horses aren't free yet. The ban starts June 1, 2028. Until then the carriages keep running, and the Mamdani administration owes the Council a plan by April 2027 to move about 200 workers into new jobs through referrals, training and career counseling. The law also says the horses can't be sold to slaughterhouses or to carriage operators in other cities. Mayor Zohran Mamdani's office helped write the amendments, and with 40 votes behind the bill, a veto wouldn't matter.

Not everyone is celebrating. Transport Workers Union Local 100 represents the drivers, and it says the city is shutting down a 168-year-old licensed industry without guaranteed job protections or compensation. Medallion owners paid anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars for their licenses, and the union has threatened to sue on constitutional property-rights grounds. Keep an eye on that lawsuit and on how much the city ends up paying medallion owners. For Thursday night, though, Keegs has her win, and she's announcing it in all caps.