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JULYJULY 20102015 •• TAXITAXI INSIDERINSIDER •• PAGEPAGE 11 INSIDER VOL. 16, NO. 7 “The Voice of the NYC Transportation Industry.” JULY 2015 Letters Start on Page 2 • EDITORIAL Insider News Page 5, 16 and 18 By David Pollack • Taxi Attorney Removing Taxi Stands Is By Michael Spevack Page 7 • Hardly Progressive Insider Puzzle There was once a time when a taxi industry drivers enough to give us a “heads up” anymore Page 7 representative cold go to the NYC Taxi when they decide to remove any Taxi • & Limousine Commission (TLC) and Stand, nor do they ask for our opinion. Commissioner’s Corner request the addition of a Taxi Stand at This is the typical DO WHAT I TELL YOU By Meera Joshi a specific location. The TLC in turn, TO DO BECAUSE I KNOW BETTER” Page 13 would send their request for an addi- syndrome. Or, the “WE DON’T CARE tional Taxi Stand location to the New ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY” • York City Department of Transporta- syndrome. New Transportation Directions tion (DOT) and the implementation The same syndrome was used by By Matthew Daus, Esq. was rarely challenged. Starting with Mayor Bloomberg, when ONE TLC Page 17 the Bloomberg administration, Taxi staff member decided not to engage any • Stands started disappearing in large commissioner, nor the taxi industry, and Madallion Agents numbers. (In the spirit of transparency, solely ordered the removal of the Rate Starts on Page 19 I was called ONCE to discuss removing 15 Taxi Of Fare information from the doors of yellow • parking places around Union Square. The result cabs. I believed and still do, that the public is Summer Season was replacing them on 3rd Avenue.) The biggest entitled to know the fare before they enter their Insurance Topics David Copperfield magic act, was the removal hailed cab, as opposed to hearing, “50 BUCKS By Alan Plafker of Taxi Stands along 8th Avenue north of 42nd TO PENN STATION” by non medallion drivers Page 20 Street on the west side. Those Taxi Stands held who negotiate. • about 15 taxis. Simply stated, the city does not respect us to Quotable Quotes As the letters sent to me below reflect, the City this degree: We are ignored if we have to take a Page 21 of New York DOT does not respect the rights of taxi (Continued on Page 8) • You Be The Judge Page 21 Golden Slumber • By Larry Fisher, Loan Department Supervisor NYC Economy MELROSE Credit Union Page 27 My mother used to a twelve hour work shift. Is it too late? Can we • have a saying, “They put the genie back in the bottle? Events and More woke up. The war is I have an idea that can solve some of the prob- Starts on Page 29 over.” Back then, it lems the city faces. First, let’s remember where we • referred to a family were a few short years ago. The licensed public Insider Directory member or friend who vehicular transportation industry consisted of a Page 32 belatedly called to see few classes. There were yellow cabs for street • how she was faring in hails, an exclusive right. There were black cars to World News her late stage bout with service the corporate clientele, and private clients Page 46 cancer. It could just as by pre-arrangement. Community car services pro- easily be said about the vided transportation to the local neighborhoods. NYC City Council’s Limousines dealt with high-end clients. There For news and information proposal to limit the growth of livery or black cars. was minimal cross-over, legally, at least. There regarding efforts to ensure Really? Now? It wasn’t so long ago that former were illegal street hails by gypsy cabs and airport Mayor Bloomberg proposed a congestion pricing hustlers, who occasionally would be ticketed or that all livery vehicles are plan for Manhattan. Now that 20,000 ride-share impounded, usually when the TLC was in need vehicles are clogging the streets of Manhattan and of a headline. There were, for the most part, lines complying with the law, go to the airport terminals, the politicians have awoken of demarcation. This arrangement existed for from their slumber. 20,000 additional taxis are the over three decades, at least since the launching www.ourridenyc.com equivalent of 500,000 regular vehicles, assuming (Continued on Page 6) PAGE 2 • TAXI INSIDER • JULY 2015 JULY 2010 • TAXI INSIDER • PAGE 1 LETTERS INSIDER Phony Boloney TLC Drivers Rules - P.S. Publisher & Dear Taxi Dave, This is yet ANOTHER thing we can blame ‘Uber Editor-in-Chief et al’ for - ...their DISGUSTING ‘fl at rate’ with no tips OR David Pollack tolls being charged on top of their fl at rate !! The UBER-ians are fl at-rating around the City, then when they have to ‘lower’ themselves to take a yellow cab with TRAFFIC WAITING TIME, they get cranky !! ...I say - LEGALIZE SURGE PRICING FOR THE YELLOWS, TOO! ARGH! Columnists Abmit Matthew Daus, Esq. Photo by David Pollack Open The Lane FDR Tony Falese Another parked phony Boloney yellow car Drive North Bound At posing as a medallion cab minus one thing: a Larry Fisher medallion and any regulations. Houston St. Taxi Dave Dear Taxi Dave, Ira Goldstein, Esq. Hey DOT open your eyes and brain. There are heavy traffi c jams from the Brooklyn Bridge to Bob Mackle, Esq. Common Problem Houston Street on the northbound FDR. If the DOT Abe Mittleman Dear Taxi Dave, will simply open one more lane (which is not occu- Here is a common problem that no politician pied now) at Houston street, everybody will see a Alan Plafker seems to care about. One of our drivers just got big difference in traffi c. For benefi t of only 10 cars two tickets at 14th Street & 2nd Avenue for dis- on Houston Street (East) getting onto FDR, there are Michael Spevack, Esq. charging a passenger. There are cars at the curb 500 cars are suffering on the FDR (North). Let’s open and the driver told the policeman, but didn’t care three lanes on the FDR (North) at Houston Street! and chose to avoid the obvious. The Ear, Eye Ali Layout & Graphics Hospital is there. Staten Island LB Dragonfl y Graphics LLC Taxi Drivers DiBlasio Worse than Hi Taxi Dave, Gov. Christy This is the fi rst time I listed to your show . One Taxi Insider Dear Taxi Dave, of the things I hope you talk about is the hardships 14 Alexander Drive Why would you shut down a tube of the Midtown a driver goes through both men & women. I’m so Tunnel at 10pm on a Friday & Sunday, especially on tired lately of all the negative talk about a yellow Washingtonville, NY 10992 a Sunday that’s the city is hosting the Tony awards cab driver lately. & 2 concerts as well as people traveling from their Christine A Phone: (718) 706-TAXI(8294) weekend. Bad for business for all of NYC! Wait till — midnight at the very least. Medallions Tommy Dear Taxi Dave, E-mail:[email protected] Are you a medallion owner? GPS Cromanous Dear Mr Pollack, Editor’s note: No In this last months taxi insider newspaper I see Copyright © 2015 by TAXI INSIDER. All that one of your readers is stating that police of- rights reserved. Neither this newspaper nor CITIBIKE ficers are ticketing yellow cab drivers for merely Dear Taxi Dave, any part therof may be reproduced, copied, having a GPS navigation device in their taxi. or transmitted in any form, electronic or How many Citi-Bikers are getting stopped by Please let me know if it is legal for the police NYPD and summonsed? Yellow cabdrivers are on mechanical including photocopying, mi- officers to issue a summons for this. crofi lming, recording or by any information the list every day! I’ve been told in the past that it was perfectly Steph retrieving system without the express written alright to have a GPS navigation device to assist permission of the publishers. The copyright us as along as we are legally standing. is extended to the design and text created As a matter of fact, I personally called the TLC MTA Charge for advertisements. This publication will law department 4yrs ago and they confirmed what I Hello David, not be responsible for errors in advertise- mentioned before. Has there been a change in TLC The way the MTA should charge the public is ment beyond the cost of the space occupied rules recently or is this just another shakedown according to a passenger’s yearly income. The more by the error. Bylined articles represent the by” New York Finest “? money a person makes, the more he should pay as sole opinion of the writer and are not neces- Sincerely, a fare. sarily in accordance with the views of TAXI Raymond Goolcharran Charbel INSIDER. Editor’s note: It is not against the law for any This Publication reserves the right to taxi drivers to have or use a GPS system. HOW- Bicycles limit or refuse advertising it deems objec- EVER, an officer could issue a summons for a GPS Hello David, tionable. system if it blocks your line of sight. For example, Thanks for the great weekly show. I would like TAXI INSIDER is published monthly at the GPS system is mounted on the dashboard and to say something about the bicycle cyclists; You see a subscription rate of $48.00 per year. blocks part of the windshield. them all over, between cars, buses, trucks, sidewalks, (Continued on Page 4) JULY 2015 • TAXI INSIDER • PAGE 3 Life is full of risks! Are you protected? Without the proper insurance protection you could be financially devastated.