The Manhattan Times

Over the weekend, the leadership of the New York State Senate and Assembly introduced legislation that would allow livery cars to legally do something they have been doing in our communities for 40 years: pick up passengers on the street. Should the legislation be approved it would still allow livery cars to also pick-up passengers who called livery bases for pick-up. The new bills have the unconditional support of Mayor Bloomberg, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and many elected officials in Albany and New York City.

The Manhattan Times and the Bronx Free Press are proud of having been at the forefront of this battle defending livery bases and drivers in our communities. We support these workers because they are the ones who take us to the hospital, who take our kids to school, who pick us up at the supermarket. We support them because they are part of the economic backbone of our communities. The destruction of this industry, something that some people continue to push for, would result in thousands of job losses in our communities. We respect the yellow taxi industry, but theirs is an industry that does not serve our neighborhoods. The yellow cabs are so disconnected from our daily lives that the New York City Council recently passed legislation that compels yellow cab drivers to take passengers to their destination even if that means “going to the Bronx” or “going to Dyckman.”

We exhort our elected officials in Albany to support A8496 in the Assembly and S5825 in the Senate. We encourage our neighbors to let their elected officials know that livery drivers deserve the right to pick up passengers on the street as well as handle calls from bases. And we ask local residents that the next time they hop in a livery car they tell the driver: “thanks for dedicating your life to serving our neighbors. We’re with you and the livery industry.”