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AUGUSTJULY 20102016 •• TAXITAXI INSIDERINSIDER •• PAGEPAGE 11 INSIDER VOL. 17, NO. 8 “The Voice of the NYC Transportation Industry.” AUGUST 2016 Letters To The Editor Page 3 • EDITORIAL Insider News By David Pollack Page 6 • Chairwoman States: Taxi Attorney By Michael Spevack Make The Medallion More Page 7 Of A Tradable Asset • Recently, I attended a four hour trans- sai – Executive Director of the NYTaxi Puzzle portation forum held at the New School Workers Alliance. I also had the honor Page 7 on 12th Street in Manhattan. Panelists of speaking with Matthew Driscoll the • included the Chairwoman of the New Commissioner of the New York State York City Taxi & Limousine Commission Department of Transportation and key- Commissioner’s Corner (TLC)- Meera Joshi, speakers from the note speaker. The subjects discussed By Merra Joshi MTA, Port Authority, NYCity Depart- by panelists varied from the Future of Page 12 ment of Transportation (DOT), NYState Taxis and Ride-Sharing, to Funding NY DOT, Ydanis Rodriguez-Chairman of the Transportation and Emerging Trends in • NYCity Council Transportation Commit- Transportation. The Expanding tee, Congressman Nadler and Assembly By far, the comments which hit home Transportation Network members Weprin and Comrie. Additional for me were those of TLC Chairwoman By Matthew Daus panelists included Denise Richardson -Executive Meera Joshi. It is no secret that the values of NYC Director of The General Contractors Association taxi medallion have dropped to lower levels over Page 13 of NY, and, I can’t forget to mention Bhairavi De- (Continued on Page 4) Fantasy Vs Reality NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission Hearing By Larry Fisher July 18, 2016 Page 15 By Nat Goldbetter • The July Taxi and Limou- drivers and drivers need not panic as the as the Quotabel Quotes sine Commission meeting held 12 hours, would be actual working hours and not on July 18th had a relatively consecutive hours but twelve hours of actual work- Page 15 short but important agenda. ing time. As pointed out in last month’s column, if • The biggest issue on the agenda you start work at 6:AM and work four hours and Illegal Street Hail Law was the Commission voting on then go home for fours and return to work at 2:PM Must Be Enforced the Driver Fatigue Rule that you still have eight hours to work. had an extensive public discus- The total hours of 72 per week was a big issue By Abe Mittleman sion at the June 23rd meeting. at the hearing last month as many of those of us Page 23 The rule as it stands now will who spoke on that issue were disappointed. Please • have a12 hour maximum shift remember that the 72 hours can be spread out over 7 on a daily basis and 72 hours per week. Owner NYC Hotels (Continued on Page 4) Page 26 • TAXI DAVE’S NYC Economy Page 27 & 28 • RADIO SHOW Insider Directory WOR-710AM Page 29 • 8:00 – 9:00 PM News From Around The World Page 36 EVERY SUNDAY! PAGE 2 • TAXI INSIDER • AUGUST 2016 36-16 Skillman Avenue Long Island City, NY 11101 (718) 392-7000 • Fax: (718) 472-0925 LOG ON! www.PlazaToyota.com FLEET SERVICE FROM FACTORY TRAINED PROFESSIONALS YAWAR SYED, FLEET MANAGER • 347-554-6215 or 347-554-6000 2721 Nostrand Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11210 TAXI DAVE’S RADIO SHOW WOR-710AM EVERY SUNDAY! 8:00 – 9:00 PM Your Medallion Headquarters ! LOMTO Generation Brokerage, Inc. TAXI and BLACK CAR INSURANCE SPECIALISTS ——And Medallion Transfer, Inc. Licensed TLC Broker #R0018 · Insuring the For Hire Industry - Taxi & Black Car · Providing You Service the Way It Should Be - FAST & COURTEOUS · Convenient Mid-Town Location - Hack Stand In Front of Office · Medallion Sales, Leasing, and Financing · Over 25 Years of Industry Experience 435 West 45th Street (Between 9th & 10 th Avenues) New York, N.Y. 10036 Phone: 212 582-5721 Fax: 212 582-5722 Lou Bakalar Jon Goldbetter WWW.NYCTAXINEWS.COM Call: 877-360-0019 Call Lee Komitor or Alex Chaoush 74-15 NORTHERN BLVD. QUEENS, NEW YORK 139-30 Queens Blvd., Briarwood, NY 11415 1-718-898-7800 (718) 658-9800 Fax (718) 476-8207 www.melrosecu.org AUGUST 2016 • TAXI INSIDER • PAGE 3 LETTERS JULY 2010 • TAXI INSIDER • PAGE 1 INSIDER NYPD Disrespects ehailing companies mention to their customers that to ehail a black car you must be inside, if Publisher & Taxi Drivers the City of New York lives up to its promise to Dear Taxi Dave, medallion cabs. Editor-in-Chief I have owned a medallion since 1987. Taxi An ehail is a hail but it is not always a street hail. drivers face abuse from NYPD for no reason and Michael Simon David Pollack my personal incident shows one example of no understanding or caring about taxi drivers. I was Think Outside The Box stopped on John Street between WIlliams and Dear Taxi Dave, Water with a fare from LaGuardia Airport and The yellow taxi industry is not thinking out of we just arrived at our destination. She was a very the box. Now they are trying to be like Uber, again. old woman. While she was going to pay by credit They are implementing group riding. Upper east card, I got out of my taxi, took her luggage out of side riders will not the entertain the thought of the trunk and at the same time a police car turned sharing a cab ride to save money, good luck with on his lights. When I got back to the drivers side Columnists that. I doubt these riders will share a taxi ride even of my taxi the police vehicle turned on his siren. in a spacious Ford Escalade which Uber can pro- I could not move on this one way street and the Marc Albert vide with ease. You guys have to stop mimicking police officer came over to my taxi window and the behemoth that is Uber, 60b is a lot of money Matthew Daus, Esq. demanded my license. I told him that my pas- to fight against. Try to do what Uber will never senger, the older woman was still paying by credit do “HIRE DRIVERS AS EMPLOYEES”. From Tony Falese card and her luggage is right outside the door on where I’m sitting I don’t see any other way out of the sidewalk. After she exited my taxi, the police Larry Fisher your predicament. As I said before 60 billion is a officer followed me and stopped me three blocks lot of money to fight against not to mention how away. He gave me a ticket for not yielding to an Nat Goldbetter many greedy politicians can bought, cheap. emergency vehicle. When he gave me the summons, Virgilio Ira Goldstein, Esq. I asked for my registration back and he intention- ally left kepping my registration. Abe Mittleman Janna Stroe Time And Electronic Alan Plafker Signally More And More Stickers Dear Taxi Dave, Michael Spevack, Esq. Dear Taxi Dave, Ehailers cannot offer an arrangement to have Lately I’ve noticed that black cars have more their services not be arranged. and more stickers on them , trying to authenticate That is trickery and not permitted by NEW Layout & Graphics themselves , but even if they put stickers on every YORK law. A signal that is not arranged is a hail inch of their car, their still doing wrong when they and reserved for taxi medallions in NYC. Dragonfl y Graphics LLC use the ehail to act like taxis. Time defines the difference of the identity of Michael Simon the signal . If I want a car for my brother in 45 minutes Taxi Insider Employee v Private then that’s an arrangement. If I want a car for my brother right now then that’s a hail. 14 Alexander Drive Contractor It’s common sense that there is a difference in Dear Taxi Dave, what the electronic signally is , depending on how Washingtonville, NY 10992 Given the dire situation the yellow taxi industry long it takes to get the car. finds itself in these days I think they should follow It doesn’t matter whether or not I hired a com- Phone: (718) 706-TAXI(8294) the example of the real estate company Redfin. An pany to supply that service beforehand. If it illegal — article by Nick Wimgfield published in The New it’s Illegal. York Times July 10, 2016 issue. It reported that Michael Simon E-mail:[email protected] ten years ago this company hired employees with full benefits and not as private contractors and are Copyright © 2016 by TAXI INSIDER. All doing very well. I’m of the opinion that the yellow Democratic Convention rights reserved. Neither this newspaper nor taxi industry should go the same rout, given the Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge any part therof may be reproduced, copied, fact that Uber and other app hailing interlopers Chair, Democratic National Convention or transmitted in any form, electronic or have deep pockets and can buy all the New York 2344 Rayburn House Office Building mechanical including photocopying, mi- politicians they want. These app companies will Washington, D.C. 20515 crofi lming, recording or by any information not hire drivers as employees as they are strong retrieving system without the express written believers of the gig economy. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake permission of the publishers. The copyright Virgilio Secretary, Democratic National Committee is extended to the design and text created 250 City Hall for advertisements. This publication will Inside Or Out Baltimore, MD 21202 not be responsible for errors in advertise- Dear Taxi Dave, ment beyond the cost of the space occupied The exclusive right of taxi medallions is street Dear Congresswoman Fudge and by the error.