Taxi Drivers Yell Foul at City Hall

By KECIAH BAILEY

Dozens of taxi cab drivers, elected officials and clergy members blasted Mayor de Blasio and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) accusing them of levying unfair fines, at a City Hall protest on Thursday.

At the hour-long rally, protesters marched with pickets and chanted in Spanish “We are professionals, we are not criminals.”

“Our demands are simple and clear,” said former mayoral candidate, Rev. Erick Salgado. “We are asking TLC to easy down on extremely high levies.”

Salgado said drivers are fined as much as $3000 for traffic violations and are unable to provide for their families as a result.

“There is a way to enforce the law and be fair and just but not penalize people to the point of poverty,” Assemblyman Victor Pichardo said.

In addition to the heavy fines, protesters decried the illegal seizure of vehicles, and heavy policing of cab drivers with black box technology and cameras now installed in most cabs.

Salgado said while the black box, installed in some cabs last year, was intended as a safety measure, it is being used to excessively monitor the drivers and catch them in violations – all in an attempt to impose more fines.

Activists are also calling on the city to pay for the resources needed to keep cab drivers safe while on the job.

“They have to take from their own pockets to pay for the partition and resources they need,” Salgado said. “That’s like asking a policeman to pay for his own gun.”

And now, with for hire vehicle companies such as Uber on the rise, protesters say yellow cab drivers are even more disadvantaged.

“Now they are facing unfair competition from Uber, and if the city cannot control Uber, they should at least easy down on the violations and over regulations this industry has,” Salgado said.

In July 2015 de Blasio proposed to cap Uber’s growth in New York City, citing traffic congestion and protections for the taxi industry, but failed to achieve his plan. Last month, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced that Uber will not face any regulations on surge pricing or expansion.

State Senator Ruben Diaz had a special message for Mayor de Blasio: “I hope you remember that police officers are in danger when they leave their homes and taxi drivers are in danger when they leave their homes. They deserve the same treatment.”