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Read the press release here.

Livery Cab Advocates Push Street Hail Plan

By Carla Zanoni | September 21, 2011 2:17pm
Livery Cabs would be able to pick up street hails uptown under a new plan if it gets support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Livery Cabs would be able to pick up street hails uptown under a new plan if it gets support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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Chris Hondros/Getty Images

UPPER MANHATTAN —While Albany seems to be putting the brakes on a bill that would allow livery cabs to pick up street hails in Upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs, livery cab advocates and community leaders are joining forces to push Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign it.

Support “appears to be dissipating," the governor said on Monday.

"There are a number of concerns about the bill,” he said. “The more time goes on, the more concerns are raised.”

For Kim Ramos, spokeswoman for the NY Association Of Independent Taxi Drivers, the governor’s seeming reversal of support for a bill authorizing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan was baffling.

“Many of the drivers thought it was a done deal,” she said. “We think what he’s [Cuomo] saying is untrue. We know there is a lot of support.”

Drivers crowded on the steps of City Hall Monday.
Drivers crowded on the steps of City Hall Monday.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

Ramos said support from Northern Manhattan elected officials has continued and the group plans to meet with elected officials to reaffirm their support of the bill.

“There is so much information going around out there that a lot of times people are getting confused, because they get lots of different stories,” she said. “When they speak to our group they remember why they supported this in the first place.”

The NY Association Of Independent Taxi Drivers plans to mount a “call to arms” to rally drivers throughout the five boroughs, according to Ramos. But they probably wouldn’t haul everyone to Albany in a show of force similar to the group gathering on the steps of City Hall in June, she said.

The State Assembly and Senate passed a bill this summer that would allow up to 30,000 hail permits to for-hire vehicles, which would cost $1,500 and be valid for three years.

It is not yet clear when Cuomo would sign or veto the bill, as the Senate and Assembly still need to reconvene and settle minor differences between their approved bill versions.

Many yellow cab drivers have protested the bill, expressing concern the increased competition could cut down their earnings significantly.

But Washington Heights livery cab driver Miguel Acuesta said concerns from yellow taxi drivers are unfounded.

“Where are those drivers when people in Washington Heights need them?” he asked. “They’ve never been here and they’re not here now. This bill doesn’t affect them one bit.”