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The family of a teen tourist who tragically died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage pleaded with Big Apple lawmakers to finally push forward legislation to ban the dangerous industry.
“I would not wish this on any family in the world,” the boy’s father, Deepak Mahajan, said as he sat next to his teary-eyed wife Priya in the City Council chambers on Wednesday. “No one expects for this to happen to their child, but it happened to us. Our whole family is shattered. The pain does not go away.”
Mahajan railed against the inaction of prior administrations, saying their inaction led to the death of 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan last month.
“If [the prior legislation] had passed, the carriages would have stopped on June 1, 2026 — Romanch died on June 17,” he said.
“This was not an unpredictable accident. Let his death not be in vain.”
Since the teen’s death, city lawmakers have made a renewed push against the horse carriage industry after years of failed attempted to rein in the dangerous tourist attraction.
Just days before the tragedy, lower Manhattan Councilman Chris Marte introduced the new bill and in the following weeks, the legislation has picked up a number of co-sponsors, including Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan).
“There is nothing we can do to bring him back but what we can do is honor his legacy, which is what we’re doing today at this hearing to make sure this type of tragedy never ever happens again,” Menin said during the hearing that drew hundreds to City Hall.
“Wth Romanch’s death, we have now reached a turning point,” the speaker said, highlighting the decades-long battle for reform. “The time to act is now.”
Marte echoed the speaker’s calls.
“Every time an incident occurs, we’re given an excuse,” he said.
“We’re told it’s an isolated incident and the industry is completely safe, but the reality is in the past three to four years there have been: 128 documented accidents; thirty horses have died; dozens of horses have been injured; vehicles have been damaged and destroyed, and most recently we lost the life of a young tourist.”
Former Queens Councilman Bob Holden, who had led the charge on the ban during his years on in the legislative body, skewered prior City Council leadership for refusing to even hear his bill, which is nearly identical to Marte’s.
“[Former Speaker] Adrienne Adams has blood on her hands,” he told The Post.
“Adams could have prevented this young man’s death if she had let my bill have a hearing and let the council pass it, at least give us a shot at it.”
English (US)