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Fewer livery cabs parking at Hudson Heights meters, but solution still elusive by Daniel P. Bader
Based on anecdotal evidence, fewer livery cabs appear to be parking in metered spots on W. 187th and W. 181st Street west of Broadway over the last two weeks.
Since an Oct. 14 Manhattan Times cover story about the glut of livery cabs parking on those two streets, business owners on the commercial strips have noticed stepped up police patrols and that cab drivers have, for the most part, stayed away.
“See there he goes,” said Jin Lee, the owner of Jin’s Superette on W. 181st Street.
He was pointing to the traffic enforcement officer who has always been strict on the cabbies. “He’s the best,” he said.
 According to Lee, fewer cabbies are parking at meters since the article appeared. One day in the last two weeks, he said, four squad cars stopped in front of the store and began talking to the drivers. Lee’s not sure what came of it, but said he got some static from the drivers for complaining about them in the Manhattan Times.
A spot check of W. 187th Street activity around 6 p.m. on Oct. 22 noted only one livery cab, parked at the fire hydrant outside Hilltop Pharmacy. Once that car departed, another drove up to replace it. At a similar time on a weekday last month, five cabs were parked in the area, according to a Manhattan Times count.
Residents and businesses have said that the livery cars take up valuable parking meter spaces. Car service drivers also sometimes socialize loudly outside their cars to the chagrin of residents with open windows.
Franklin Hess, special assistant to Assembly Member Herman “Denny” Farrell Jr., said there has been more enforcement in recent weeks.
“[The cabs are] still there, but they’re fewer and less frequent,” Hess said. He believes the 34th Police Precinct and the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates for-hire vehicles in the city, have stepped up their enforcement in the area.
One driver was arrested in the last week, he said, for having an expired driver’s license.
“That goes to show you the depth they’re going to,” Hess said about the efforts of the enforcement agencies. And, he added, “They’re starting to make an impact.”
Fewer drivers appear to be congregating together, and some, he said, now wait at Margaret Corbin Circle instead of at meters.
In light of the attention, Mark Levine, chair of the Community Board 12 Traffic and Transportation Committee, said that he is considering re-introducing the committee’s resolution calling for more enforcement.
Last spring he was convinced to withdraw the resolution because Farrell’s office was having a meeting with Council Member Robert Jackson’s office and Damian Rodriguez, president of First Class Car and Limousine and an unofficial leader in the livery cab industry.
The result of that first meeting, held just this month, was an effort to collect the license plate numbers of offensive drivers and present them to base owners.
“I see no reason not to,” Levine said about reintroducing the resolution, noting that he didn’t think the wording would change. “It’ll probably be similar to last time.”
“For the past six months we’ve been really focused up there,” said Deputy Inspector Andrew Capul, commander of the 34th Police Precinct. He added that his command has also worked in joint enforcement actions with the Taxi and Limousine Commission. “They’re not putting quarters in the meter,” Capul said. “Even if they are putting quarters in the meters, they’re not shopping.”
He said he knows they’re waiting for fares, which isn’t the purpose of having metered spots.
Still, he said, he understands the drivers are just trying to make a living, and his officers issue summons to enforce the rules, not to bankrupt drivers with tickets.
“This is a major industry in this community and there’s just not a lot of space,” Capul said.
Aram Gozubuyukian, owner of Pleasant Cleaners and Custom Tailors on W. 187th Street has also seen fewer livery cars on the street in recent weeks, but still thinks a taxi stand with a set number of parking spots is the right solution.
“It will solve all the aggravation,” he said. The Manhattan Times is the bilingual newspaper of Washington Heights and Inwood.
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