HELL’S KITCHEN, Manhattan — A tragic incident in Hell’s Kitchen this afternoon has reignited fierce debate over New York City’s horse-drawn carriage industry after a 15-year-old mare named Lady collapsed and died just blocks from her stable.
The incident happened as Lady was returning from Central Park to Clinton Stables on West 52nd Street. Witnesses said she stumbled and fell near the corner of West 51st Street and 11th Avenue, only minutes from home.
According to the NYPD, officers responded to a 911 call at around 2:28 p.m. reporting a horse in distress. Upon arrival, they found Lady lying on the ground still attached to her carriage. No arrests were made, and an investigation is ongoing.
A deli worker at Farmers Cafe & Market described the heartbreaking scene:
“The horse was walking normal until it started turning right onto W51st Street from 11th Ave. It then appeared to shake, jump, and fell down on its right side. The carriage driver jumped down asking for help. We didn’t know what to do.”
Additional stable workers arrived with a trailer, but Lady had already died. Police stopped the immediate removal of her body until procedures were followed.
Christina Hansen, a veteran carriage driver and TWU Local 100 shop steward, confirmed Lady’s death, describing her as a Standardbred Cross who began work in June after passing a complete veterinary exam. “Lady was walking home to her stable from Central Park when she suddenly died,” Hansen said, adding that sudden deaths can occur unexpectedly in both animals and humans. She stated that a full necropsy by a board-certified pathologist will be conducted to determine the cause.
Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who arrived at the scene, called the collapse “yet another example of needless death on the streets of New York,” urging swift passage of Ryder’s Law, a bill that would phase out carriage horses by 2026.
“No amount of regulation will be enough — horses shouldn’t be pulling tourist carriages through Midtown traffic. Cities all over the world have made the change, and we need to do it now — before another horse dies,” Bottcher said.
Animal rights advocates echoed that sentiment. Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, condemned the tragedy as “part of a horrifying, repeated pattern of cruelty that the City continues to allow.” She accused city leaders of blocking reforms despite polls showing 71% of New Yorkers support a ban. Birnkrant demanded an immediate hearing on Ryder’s Law, calling it “the only morally acceptable path forward to end this ongoing, city-sanctioned abuse once and for all.”
Lady’s death comes just weeks after a Manhattan jury acquitted carriage driver Ian McKeever of animal cruelty in the 2022 collapse of another horse, Ryder, who later died of cancer. That case intensified scrutiny on the industry, with critics calling for abolition and supporters urging better oversight.
By late afternoon, Clinton Stables staff were allowed to move Lady’s body into a trailer and take her back to the stable, just one block from where she fell.
This incident adds to the mounting pressure on lawmakers to decide the fate of horse-drawn carriages in New York City — a debate that now feels more urgent than ever.
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