Horse carriage overturns in Central Park, injuring driver and renewing Ryder's Law debate

A horse carriage overturned in Central Park Monday afternoon. One person was hurt, according to the FDNY. 

It happened at around 4:40 p.m. at the entrance to the park at Seventh Avenue and 59th Street. 

The two horses involved in the incident, Otis and Troy, are said to be OK. 

What happened  

Edita Birnkrant of animal rights organization New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets, or NYCLASS, said a horse became "violently spooked," calling it "another terrifying and completely preventable carriage horse crash." 

Christina Hansen, shop steward for TWU Local 100, which represents carraige horse drivers, said a carriage pulled by the horse named Troy arrived at the back of a line of carriages to drop off customers. Once the customers were dropped off, Troy "went to pull out in a hurry," Hansen said, pulling the carriage into contact with one in front of him. 

"He's new, and the two back wheels of the carriages collided, and Troy pulled the other carriage in front of him over," Hansen said. 

Troy, and the horse in the carriage that was pulled over, Otis, are both OK, Hansen said. 

"Unfortunately, the driver of the carriage was on the carriage when it fell over, and he's been injured. He's been taken to the hospital," Hansen said. 

Another call for Ryder's Law

NYCLASS called upon the City Council to again take up Ryder's Law. The legislation, named after a carriage horse that died several months after collapsing on city streets, was defeated in a committee vote last November. 

"Today there was both a heat advisory and an air quality alert in effect, yet these horses were still being forced to work in dangerous conditions," Birnkrant said in a statement. "These incidents keep happening because horses are prey animals who do not belong in chaotic city traffic." 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has previously said he supports removing carriage horses from Central Park. 

The TWU has previously proposed stabling the horses in the park to keep them away from city traffic.