NYCLASS

🐴 NYCLASS works to to end carriage horse abuse and gain legal protections for all animals through legislative action and activism.📣

[Animal Welfare Institute @AWIOnline]

AWI is horrified by the recent news of a teenager’s death after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park. The horse was pulling a family of four when he spooked and bolted away from his driver, who had exited the carriage to take their photo.

[Decoding Fox News @DecodingFoxNews]

If you live in NYC please contact your City Council member and tell them you support Ryder’s Law. It’s named for a horse who died. A teenager from India just died while trying to protect his mother in a carriage accident.

[Karen Messier Ⓥ🇨🇦 @KarenMessier]

Montreal banned the horse caleche industry in 2020 and nobody misses it! Tourists still flock to Old Montreal and thoroughly enjoy themselves…without contributing to animal cruelty.
It’s time for #NYC to do the right thing. https://t.co/azay78hC3K

[Frank Morano @frankmorano]

An 18-year-old young man came to NY to celebrate his high school graduation. Today, he's dead. My prayers are with the Mahajan family. This tragedy can't be dismissed as another isolated incident. We must move forward w/ Ryder's Law and finally end horse-drawn carriages in NYC.

[New York Post @nypost]

Today's cover: A teen tourist who was tragically thrown to his death from a Central Park horse carriage was reportedly trying to save his mother’s life after the animal bolted. https://t.co/LrxTCCIzUk

[New York Post @nypost]

Mamdani pressured to ban NYC's iconic horse carriage rides after teen tourist's death https://t.co/YMARvOI31t

[Erik Bottcher @ebottcher]

Good. Now the City Council must make it permanent by passing Ryder’s Law.

I call on all Council Members who are not cosponsoring the bill to sign on now. Thank you @CarlMichaelW for signing on right away and showing leadership!

[Tomris Laffly @TomiLaffly]

How horrendous. Dear @NYCMayor, please do what you must to end this barbaric horse carriage "tradition" in NYC. We hate it. We don't want it. It is extremely cruel for the horses & clearly unsafe for everyone. Central Park does not need it to be Central Park. Please do something.

[amNewYork™ @amNewYork]

City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Wednesday night that it is “time to act” after an 18-year-old man was killed by a Central Park carriage horse bolting and flipping over its cab that he was riding in that afternoon. https://t.co/llg3dla2JS

[The Juggernaut @thejuggernaut]

#breaking: The Mahajan family’s first trip to NYC ended in mourning after the death of their 18-year-old son, NYT reported.

The family was on a horse-drawn carriage ride around 2:45 p.m. in Central Park, when the driver got off to take a photo of the family, the father told NYT. But then, the horse bolted, speeding up before it crashed.

“We were yelling, ‘Help me, help me!’” Romanch Mahajan’s father, Deepak, 44, told NYT. 

His wife, Priya, fell out of the carriage, so Romanch jumped down to try to help. But he didn’t get up. By around 7:15 p.m., he had died from his injuries, West Side Rag wrote. The other family members, including Romanch’s younger brother, sustained minor injuries.

The incident has renewed outrage over the horse-drawn carriage industry and its treatment of horses. On June 9, a horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park after eating a plant toxic to horses.

“This is unacceptable. A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos — ever,” Alexander Kemp, a VP of the horse carriage industry union, said in a statement. “We support a full investigation.” The driver has been suspended and the horse involved, named Sampson, has been retired.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the death a “horrific incident.” “I look forward to working with…community leaders to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”

The Mahajan family was celebrating Romanch’s graduation from high school. He was set to begin studying at Manipal University Jaipur for college.

“It took my son’s dream away,” Deepak Mahajan told NYT.

[NYCLASS @nyclass]

We offer our condolences to the Maharan family. My organization is holding a vigil in honor of Romanch in Central Park on Monday at 11AM at Cherry Hill. We are calling for an immediate shutdown of deadly horse carriages to prevent another tragedy. We invite the family to attend. 🙏

[India in New York @IndiainNewYork]

We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Mr. Romanch Mahajan, an Indian national, who tragically lost his life following a fall from a horse carriage in Central Park, New York.

Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family during this difficult time. The Consulate is in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance and support.

@MEAIndia @IndianEmbassyUS @IndianDiplomacy

[New York Post @nypost]

NYC horse carriage ban gains traction following tragic death of teen tourist https://t.co/NBLJXNyikM

[Humane World for Animals @humaneworldorg]

Tragedy has struck again in New York City. A young man visiting New York with his family has died following a carriage accident in Central Park, after the horse bolted and the driverless carriage carrying him and other family members overturned. We don’t need more proof. This inhumane industry puts public safety at risk and has no place in New York City.

We support Speaker Julie Menin’s push for a public hearing on this legislation. The council must act before the next tragedy.

[Center for a Humane Economy @TheHumaneCenter]

Just days after carriage horse Deniz collapsed and died, an 18-year-old suffered fatal injuries after a horse reportedly became frightened and bolted during a carriage ride in Central Park.

How many more tragedies will it take before city leaders finally end it?

[NYCLASS @nyclass]

@amNewYork Great, we urge @NYCMayor to continue that suspension with an executive order to prevent further tragedies.

[Harvey Epstein @HarveyforNY]

Thank you @SpeakerMenin for holding a hearing on Ryder’s law next month. Let’s get this done, too many innocent lives depend on it.

[NYCLASS @nyclass]

“In the past two weeks alone, we have seen the tragic deaths of both a horse and now a teenage carriage passenger, Romanch Mahajan,” @SpeakerMenin said, referring to the June 9 incident in which a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park, likely from consuming a toxic plant.

These incidents demonstrate that it’s time to chart a better path forward that addresses animal welfare and public safety, and also ensures the livelihood and economic prosperity of the workers,” Menin said. #RydersLaw

https://t.co/X58OB5y29Y

[Equine Advocacy Alliance @TheEquinesVoice]

ZERO CONCERN FOR HUMAN LIFE! Read what this @TWULocal100 carriage owner says in response to their actions which caused the death of an 18 year old tourist. Compares to plane and car crashes! He walked away from the HORSE! @SpeakerMenin THANK YOU. @Lynn4NYC @NYCMayor @NYCCouncil

[NYCLASS @nyclass]

“We have an 18-year-old boy who came here to celebrate his graduation who is leaving in a coffin. It’s totally unacceptable,” @CMFrankMorano told The Post on Thursday.

“The time for treating these accidents as isolated incidents is over,” he said. “It is an industry that no longer makes sense.”

@NYCMayor has said he supports outlawing carriage rides in Central Park, a pledge he made on the campaign trail.
#RydersLaw

https://t.co/X58OB5y29Y